OCIAL  IDEALISM 


AND  THE  CHANGING  THEOLOGY 


GERALD  BIRNEY  SMITH 


.     .         i 


!ii 


GIFT   OF 


SOCIAL  IDEALISM 

AND  THE  CHANGING 

THEOLOGY 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NBW  YORK   •    BOSTON   •    CHICAGO 
ATLANTA   •    SAN   FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LIMITED 

LONDON  •    BOMBAY   •    CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  LTD. 

TORONTO 


SOCIAL  IDEALISM 

AND  THE  CHANGING 

THEOLOGY 

A   STUDY   OF    THE   ETHICAL   ASPECTS 
OF   CHRISTIAN   DOCTRINE 


The  Nathaniel  William  Taylor  Lectures  for  1912 
Delivered  before  the  Yale  Divinity  School 


BY 

GERALD   BIRNEY   SMITH 

ASSOCIATE   PBOFESSOB   OF  CHRISTIAN   THEOLOGY   IN   THE  DIVHSITY  SCHOOL 
OF  THE  DNIVEBBITY  OF  CHICAGO 


J?eto  gorfe 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

1913 

All  rights  reserved 


COPYRIGHT,  1913 
By  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

Set  up  and  electrotyped.    Published  Mar.  19x3 


TO 

Jfatfjer 

THE   MEMORY   OF   WHOSE   INFLUENCE 
WILL  EVER   GUIDE   MY  IDEALS 

AND   WHOSE   LIFE 

FIRST   DISCLOSED   TO   ME 

THE  ETHICAL  MEANING   OF   CHRISTIANITY 


PREFACE 

THIS  volume  contains  the  substance  of  the  lec- 
tures which  were  delivered  on  the  Nathaniel 
William  Taylor  foundation  at  the  Spring  con- 
ference of  alumni  of  Yale  Divinity  School  and 
ministers  of  Connecticut  at  New  Haven  in  April, 
1912.  After  they  had  been  delivered,  it  seemed 
best  to  profit  by  the  comments  of  those  who 
heard  them,  and  to  gain  the  advantage  of  criti- 
cisms on  the  part  of  two  or  three  friends  who 
were  good  enough  to  read  the  manuscript.  As 
a  result,  some  minor  changes  have  been  made  so 
as  to  avoid  misinterpretation  in  one  or  two 
points;  but  the  substance  of  the  discussion  re- 
mains practically  unchanged.  The  final  lecture 
of  the  course,  which  was  too  long  to  be  read 
in  its  entirety,  has  here  been  divided  and  slightly 
expanded  in  order  to  give  space  for  a  more  de- 
tailed exposition. 

*  • 

vn 


PREFACE 

It  has  for  some  time  seemed  to  the  author 
that  the  theological  scholarship  of  our  day  is 
in  danger  of  pursuing  a  course  which  might  end 
in  a  somewhat  exclusive  intellectualism.  As  the 
progress  of  biblical  criticism  has  compelled  us 
to  reconstruct  our  conception  of  the  way  in 
which  the  Bible  is  to  be  used,  the  appeal  to  the 
Bible,  which  to  Luther  seemed  so  simple  and 
democratic  a  matter,  has  become  hedged  in  with 
considerations  of  critical  scholarship  difficult 
for  those  who  are  not  specialists  to  comprehend. 
While  theologians  have  been  giving  attention  to 
the  problems  created  by  this  phase  of  scholar- 
ship, the  movements  of  life  in  our  day  have 
brought  to  the  front  aspects  of  the  social 
question  sadly  needing  the  guidance  and  the 
control  which  can  be  supplied  only  by  an 
ethical  religion.  The  utterances  of  theol- 
ogy, in  so  far  as  it  has  followed  traditional 
paths,  have  been  somewhat  remote  from 
these  pressing  moral  questions  of  social 
justice. 

Now    the    ethics    underlying    traditional    the- 


PREFACE  IX 

ology  is  aristocratic.  It  has  been  assumed  that 
truth  must  be  formulated  by  a  higher  wisdom, 
to  the  authority  of  which  men  must  submit. 
This  aristocratic  conception  of  social  guidance 
was  formerly  characteristic  of  all  realms  of  hu- 
man enterprise.  It  still  dominates  much  of  our 
thinking.  But  it  is  becoming  increasingly  evi- 
dent that  the  ethical  sympathies  of  our  age  are 
with  the  immanent  rights  of  man  to  discover 
truth  for  himself  and  to  try  such  experiments 
as  he  wishes  to  make.  In  political  life  we  have 
frankly  abandoned  the  ideal  of  government 
from  above,  and  are  engaged  in  the  task  of  edu- 
cating men  to  an  adequate  appreciation  of  the 
ethical  principles  of  democracy.  Our  industrial 
progress  is  taking  us  in  the  direction  of  in- 
creased democratic  rights  in  the  daily  toil  of 
men.  In  our  religious  life  also  it  is  proving 
more  and  more  difficult  to  enforce  the  ethical 
tenets  which  belonged  to  the  age  of  aristocratic 
control.  Dissent  is  today  widespread  and  for 
the  most  part  goes  undisciplined.  The  ethics  of 
modern  democracy  increasingly  rule  our  prac- 


X  PREFACE 

tice  in  religion  as  well  as  in  political  and  indus- 
trial life. 

Thus  there  is  a  discrepancy  between  the  ethi- 
cal principles  which  were  embodied  in  the  tra- 
ditional theology  and  the  principles  underlying 
our  actual  practice.  There  is  a  real  danger  lest 
the  practical  disregard  of  the  ecclesiastical  ethics 
which  is  still  formally  proclaimed  may  lead  to 
a  weakened  sense  of  moral  loyalty,  and  may 
thus  prove  disastrous  to  the  cause  of  Christian- 
ity. If  theology  is  to  have  any  part  in  the  social 
and  ethical  reconstruction  which  is  before  us,  it 
must  learn  to  appreciate  and  to  use  the  ethical 
principles  which  are  coming  to  be  dominant  in 
our  age.  The  purpose  of  these  lectures  is  to 
show  how  and  why  the  change  from  aristo- 
cratic to  democratic  ideals  has  taken  place,  and 
to  indicate  wherein  an  understanding  of  the  sig- 
nificance of  this  ethical  evolution  may  aid  in 
the  reconstruction  of  theology.  It  is  hoped  that 
when  this  is  clearly  apprehended  by  theologians 
and  ministers,  the  reconstruction  of  religious  be- 
liefs may  be  more  closely  related  to  the  great 


PREFACE  XI 

problems  of  social  ethics  now  looming  so  large, 
and  needing  the  help  which  a  positive  religious 
faith  can  supply. 

It  is  impossible  to  indicate  in  detail  my  in- 
debtedness to  others  in  working  out  the  con- 
siderations which  have  found  a  place  in  these 
lectures.  Mention  should  be  made,  however, 
of  the  stimulus  and  the  insight  due  to  the 
marked  ethical  and  social  emphasis  of  my  col- 
leagues in  both  the  theological  and  the  philo- 
sophical faculties  of  the  University  of  Chicago, 
as  they  have  helped  me  through  published  works 
and  through  the  more  intimate  means  of  per- 
sonal conversation. 

CHICAGO,  October  12,  1912. 


CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION    «...*»,«„         xv 

I.    ECCLESIASTICAL    ETHICS    AND    AU- 
THORITATIVE THEOLOGY  ...  i 
II.     THE    DISCREDITING    OF    ECCLESIAS- 
TICAL ETHICS 47 

III.  THE    MORAL    CHALLENGE    OF    THE 

MODERN  WORLD 99 

IV.  THE  ETHICAL  BASIS   or   RELIGIOUS 

ASSURANCE 156 

V.    THE  ETHICAL  TRANSFORMATION  OF 

THEOLOGY      .<•»•«.       205 


Xlll 


INTRODUCTION 

INTELLIGENT  people  are  well  aware  of  the 
pressing  necessity  for  a  re-examination  of  the 
principles  and  contents  of  Christian  theology  in 
pur  day.  The  task  of  reconstruction  is  being 
undertaken  by  many  gifted  minds,  and  has  been 
making  gratifying  progress  in  recent  years. 
There  is  in  existence  today  a  considerable  litera- 
ture of  power  and  insight  dealing  with  various 
aspects  of  the  present  theological  situation.  But 
in  spite  of  the  positive  contributions  which  are 
being  made  in  the  direction  of  a  more  effective 
and  convincing  presentation  of  our  Christian 
beliefs,  there  is  still  a  widespread  feeling  that 
a  "new"  theology  is  not  as  powerful  an  agent 
for  the  promotion  of  the  religious  life  as  is  the 
traditional  system  of  doctrine. 

The  principal  reason  for  this  popular  distrust 
is,  it  is  true,  the  inherited  feeling  that  loyalty 

xv 


XVI  INTRODUCTION 

to  the  system  of  revealed  truth  is  of  superior 
moral  quality  to  the  spirit  of  critical  investiga- 
tion which  is  so  ready  to  engage  in  "destructive" 
speculation.  Thus  there  is  a  genuinely  moral 
motive  back  of  the  utterances  of  those  who  dis- 
trust reforming  movements  in  the  realm  of  the- 
ological beliefs.  The  critical  scholars,  on  the 
other  hand,  are  too  generally  concerned  with  the 
intellectual  aspects  of  their  problems  to  allow 
the  moral  ideals  of  popular  opinion  to  weigh 
heavily.  They  feel  that  loyalty  to  the  truth, 
wherever  that  loyalty  may  lead,  is  the  self-evi- 
dent pathway  to  genuine  and  permanently  con- 
structive efforts.  They  are  thus  likely  to  be 
impatient  with  the  objections  of  the  man  who 
believes  in  a  perfect  and  finished  system  of  re- 
vealed truth.  Thus  because  neither  side  com- 
pletely understands  the  motives  of  the  other, 
there  is  likely  to  ensue  a  misunderstanding 
which  may  have  deplorable  consequences.  It 
would  be  a  calamity  if  the  piety  of  the  churches 
and  the  learning  of  the  schools  were  to  become 
so  alienated  from  each  other  that  the  organ- 


INTRODUCTION  XV11 

ized  institutions  of  religion  were  willing  to 
forego  the  scientific  criticism  and  guid- 
ance which  scholarship  can  furnish,  and  if 
the  work  of  the  scholars  were  to  find  no  di- 
rect outlet  into  the  religious  activities  of  our 
day. 

For  the  glory  of  Christianity  is  really  in  the 
ethical  character  of  its  theology.  Jesus  appre- 
hended and  interpreted  religion  in  the  homely 
and  intimate  realms  of  character  and  conduct 
rather  than  in  the  field  of  abstract  doctrine. 
Such  doctrinal  reforms  as  he  contemplated  were 
due  to  moral  rather  than  to  intellectual  consid- 
erations. The  power  of  the  religion  which  calls 
itself  by  his  name  lies  in  its  ethical  supremacy. 
The  theology  of  the  early  Christians  was  not 
the  chief  means  of  winning  converts.  There 
were  rival  forms  of  religion  with  equally  impres- 
sive intellectual  systems.  But  Christianity 
brought  the  compelling  force  of  great  moral 
ideals  suffused  with  religious  dynamic.  As  we 
trace  the  history  of  our  religion,  we  take  most 
pride  in  the  splendid  ethical  reformations  of  the- 


XV111  INTRODUCTION 

ology  which  enabled  it  to  appeal  with  new  power 
to  men. 

A  reformed  theology  which  does  no  more 
than  satisfy  intellectual  interests  must  inevitably 
prove  itself  unable  to  carry  the  great  missionary 
and  evangelical  enterprises  so  essential  to  Chris- 
tianity. Perhaps  one  of  the  chief  dangers  which 
lies  before  us  today  in  our  efforts  to  reconstruct 
our  theology  is  that  we  may  forget  that  too  ex- 
clusive attention  to  the  purely  scientific  or  intel- 
lectual aspects  of  the  work  of  reconstruction 
will  mean  a  theology  which  becomes  a  mere 
phase  of  general  culture.  As  such,  it  will  claim 
the  interest  of  only  a  cultured  few,  and  will  thus 
become  essentially  aristocratic.  Indeed,  there 
are  not  wanting  signs  of  popular  disregard  for 
a  theology  which  takes  visible  pride  in  a  superior 
scientific  equipment,  if  that  superior  equipment 
unduly  values  matters  of  critical  accuracy  with- 
out a  corresponding  sensitiveness  to  the  great 
universal  spiritual  needs  of  men.  Is  "higher 
criticism"  really  succeeding  in  creating  a  more 
vital,  virile  faith?  Or  is  it  putting  to  the  front 


INTRODUCTION  XIX 

the  necessity  for  cautious  and  careful  accuracy 
in  matters  of  historical  fact  so  as  to  induce  a 
feeling  that  it  is  not  wise  or  possible  to  be  dog- 
matically certain  of  some  of  the  truths  by  which 
our  fathers  lived,  and  in  the  strength  of  which 
they  marched  to  victory  ?  There  is  a  real  danger 
that  the  inherent  moral  strength  of  critical 
scholarship  may  not  be  appreciated  either  by 
those  who  are  engaged  in  the  work  of  scholar- 
ship or  by  those  who  fear  the  introduction  of 
the  critical  method  into  the  exposition  of  re- 
ligious truth.  The  discussion  which  follows  will 
attempt  an  evaluation  of  the  ethical  aspects  of 
theological  reconstruction,  in  the  hope  of  dis- 
closing a  genuine  moral  dynamic  in  the  methods 
of  critical  scholarship  which  are  being  so  gen- 
erally adopted  in  our  theological  study. 

A  further  word  as  to  the  particular  moral 
perplexity  which  confronts  us  will  not  be  amiss 
at  this  point. 

It  has  for  centuries  been  assumed  that  the 
task  of  Christian  theology  consisted  in  the  faith- 
ful reproduction  of  the  content  of  scripture. 


XX  INTRODUCTION 

Moral  honor,  therefore,  would  compel  the  the- 
ologian to  declare  that  any  departure  from  the 
teaching  of  the  Bible  is  wrong.  Today,  how- 
ever, we  are  in  possession  of  a  new  method  of 
investigating  the  Bible.  The  more  exact  scholar- 
ship which  springs  from  this  method  compels  us 
to  recognize  that  some  of  the  interpretations  held 
by  men  of  former  generations  are  not  tenable. 
It  has  been  a  hard  struggle  for  many  a  con- 
scientious scholar  to  admit  that  a  biblical  writer 
actually  held  a  doctrine  different  from  that 
which  had  been  attributed  to  him,  especially 
when  the  doctrine  so  attributed  seems  to  be 
morally  and  philosophically  superior  to  the  idea 
which  critical  investigation  shows  to  have  been 
actually  entertained  by  the  biblical  writer.  The 
discovery  of  a  discrepancy  between  ideas  found 
in  the  scriptures  and  one's  own  honest  convic- 
tions brings  a  moral  paralysis  so  long  as  the  tra- 
ditional conception  of  authority  is  retained.  On 
the  one  hand  is  the  inherited  feeling  of  obli- 
gation to  accept  as  final  truth  whatever  the  Bible 
teaches.  On  the  other  hand  is  the  inner  impera- 


INTRODUCTION  XXI 

tive  of  honesty  to  one's  own  real  beliefs.  If,  as 
is  not  infrequently  the  case,  these  two  moral 
imperatives  work  in  different  directions,  there 
can  be  no  unified,  strong  theology.  I  think  it  is 
no  exaggeration  to  say  that  most  of  the  the- 
ologians who  are  engaged  in  the  task  of  recon- 
struction today  are  hampered  more  or  less  by 
the  presence  of  these  conflicting  motives.  Is  it 
possible  successfully  to  carry  out  a  program 
which  in  effect  proclaims :  "We  will  honestly 
seek  the  facts  and  will  build  upon  the  facts;  but 
we  will  also  conserve  the  traditional  doctrines"? 
Could  the  astronomer  say:  "We  will  honestly 
seek  the  facts  and  build  upon  them;  but  we  will 
also  conserve  the  Ptolemaic  system"?  Would 
not  such  an  announcement  mean  that  the  king- 
dom of  loyalty  to  truth  was  divided  against  it- 
self? 

What  is  needed  is  an  understanding  of  the 
moral  values  belonging  to  the  older  loyalty  and 
an  equally  accurate  understanding  of  the  moral 
values  inherent  in  the  newer  methods.  Now 
the  traditional  ideals  cannot  be  appreciated 


XX11  INTRODUCTION 

without  a  knowledge  of  the  historical  circum- 
stances which  occasioned  the  perfecting  of  the 
authority  ideal  in  religious  thinking.  Likewise, 
the  reasons  for  modifying  the  older  ideal  be- 
come evident  only  as  we  understand  the  changes 
in  social  life  which  have  occasioned  the  rise  of 
newer  ideals  of  thinking.  If  once  these  two 
ideals  can  be  measured  against  the  background 
of  history,  it  ought  to  be  possible  to  appraise 
both  of  them  truly,  and  consequently  to  allow 
the  latent  ethical  value  of  the  modern  ideal  to 
reveal  itself  more  clearly.  What  is  imperatively 
needed  is  a  moral  valuation  of  scientific  scholar- 
ship so  that  we  shall  not  feel  that  it  somehow 
needs  an  apology.  The  historical  method  of 
studying  religion  must  be  pushed  to  its  logical 
conclusion.  We  must  insist  that  the  outcome  of 
critical  scholarship  shall  be  judged  by  its  actual 
moral  quality,  not  by  the  superficial  test  of  mere 
conformity  to  a  system. 

In  the  following  discussion  we  shall  first  at- 
tempt to  show  how  the  exigencies  of  the  Chris- 
tian church  during  the  first  millennium  of  its 


INTRODUCTION  XX111 

existence  made  the  adoption  and  the  perfection 
of  the  authority  ideal  in  theology  a  source  of 
moral  power.  We  shall  then  show  how  during 
the  past  four  or  five  centuries  changes  in  our 
social  and  intellectual  life  have  taken  place  which 
have  gradually  brought  into  existence  a  new 
type  of  moral  loyalty;  and  that  the  Christian 
church,  in  so  far  as  it  retains  the  authority  ideal, 
has  lost  its  hold  on  large  sections  of  modern 
life  because  of  a  failure  to  appreciate  the  real 
moral  problems  involved.  The  moral  challenge 
due  to  these  facts  will  then  be  stated.  Finally 
the  ethical  aspects  of  the  work  of  theological 
reconstruction  will  be  considered  in  the  light  of 
the  preceding  survey. 


SOCIAL  IDEALISM 

AND  THE  CHANGING 

THEOLOGY 


1 


ECCLESIASTICAL     ETHICS     AND     AUTHORITA- 
TIVE THEOLOGY 

FOR  centuries  Christianity  has  been  conceived 
to  be  a  closed  system  of  doctrine,  guaranteed  by 
the  scriptures  and  the  creeds  which  the  church 
pronounces  authoritative.  The  Christian  is  edu- 
cated to  feel  that  his  primary  duty  is  loyalty  to 
this  system,  and  that  any  departure  from  it  is 
a  mark  either  of  ignorance  which  must  be  cor- 
rected or  of  delinquency  which  must  be  morally 
overcome.  Nevertheless,  Christian  activity  today 
is  spreading  into  fields  which  have  not  been  .or- 
ganized by  the  church.  But  there  is  at  the  same 
time  a  lack  of  clear  consciousness  as  to  the  exact 
relation  between  these  good  enterprises  which 
are  conducted  by  secular  agencies  and  the  Chris- 
tian spirit,  which  it  is  felt  must  be  somehow 


2  SOOAL   IDEALISM 

identified  with  the  church  spirit.  For  example, 
many  ministers  have  been  puzzled  as  to  the  atti- 
tude which  should  be  assumed  toward  such  man- 
ifestly moral  enterprises  as  "secular"  educa- 
tional institutions  like  the  state  universities  or 
toward  such  evident  agencies  for  human  welfare 
as  the  social  settlements  which  refuse  to  wear  a 
religious  label.  There  have  not  been  wanting 
instances  of  deliberate  hostility  to  all  enterprises 
which  are  not  formally  connected  with  the 
church.  The  splendid  moral  loyalty  of  men  who 
are  devoted  to  the  conception  of  ecclesiastical 
control  is  undoubted;  but  most  of  us  are  aware 
that  there  is  serious  moral  confusion  involved 
in  the  maintenance  of  so  exclusive  an  attitude. 
In  order  to  understand  the  precise  nature  of  the 
problem  caused  by  this  maladjustment  of  the 
church's  conscience  to  modern  secular  ideals,  it 
is  necessary  to  know  how  the  ecclesiastical  ideal 
arose,  and  what  was  its  ethical  significance  in 
the  days  of  its  supremacy.  Was  it  or  was  it 
not  an  expression  of  genuine  Christian  devo- 
tion? Did  it  or  did  it  not  accomplish  a  moral 


ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS  3 

task?  Why  did  it  command  the  loyalty  of  men 
for  so  many  centuries?  Why  does  it  arouse  so 
much  opposition  today?  These  are  questions 
which  must  be  asked  if  we  are  to  estimate  prop- 
erly the  moral  problem  involved  in  the  recon- 
struction of  theology. 

Nothing  is  easier  than  to  point  out  the  fact 
that  the  ideal  of  Jesus  was  opposed  to  and  dis- 
trusted by  the  ecclesiastical  temper  of  his  day. 
It  is  extremely  doubtful  whether  Jesus  ever  used 
the  word  "church."  The  New  Testament  writ- 
ings do  indeed  reflect  the  consciousness  of  an 
organized  community  in  his  name.  But  a  care- 
ful examination  of  the  teachings  of  Jesus  seems 
to  indicate  that  nothing  was  further  from  his 
intention  than  to  bring  the  moral  and  religious 
life  of  his  followers  under  the  control  of  an 
institution.  He  was  too  keenly  sensitive  to  the 
moral  disadvantages  which  accrued  to  the 
method  of  the  scribes  to  feel  any  impulse  to  sub- 
stitute for  scribism  a  new  ecclesiastical  govern- 
ment of  the  life  of  man.  His  one  aim  was  to 
arouse  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  heard  him 


4  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

the  vivid  conviction  that  all  other  considerations 
were  secondary  to  that  of  being  fit  for  member- 
ship in  the  Kingdom  of  God.  The  principles 
of  right  living  were  to  be  derived  from  God's 
Kingdom  rather  than  from  any  earthly  insti- 
tution. In  determining  the  characteristics  of 
the  Kingdom  life,  Jesus  was  astonishingly  free 
from  technical  considerations.  He  always 
looked  the  facts  straight  in  the  face,  and  drew 
his  conclusions  from  the  exigencies  of  actual 
experience  rather  than  from  any  authoritative 
system  of  morals.  He  thus  repeatedly  drew 
upon  himself  criticisms  for  his  laxity,  when 
judged  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  scribes. 
The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  embodies  a  defence 
of  his  ideal  against  the  accusations  of  those  who 
looked  upon  him  as  a  destroyer  of  the  law  and 
the  prophets.  His  "better  righteousness"  was 
due  to  his  freedom  from  ecclesiastical  trammels 
in  dealing  with  the  needs  of  those  whom  he 
sought  to  help. 

Those  of  our  own  day  who  dislike  the  ecclesi- 
astical conception  of  religion  are  accustomed  to 


ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS  5 

point  out  the  contrast  between  this  free,  open- 
minded  attitude  of  Jesus  and  the  rigid  authorita- 
tive system  which  later  came  to  prevail.  It 
has  been  common,  since  the  days  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, for  us  Protestants  to  look  upon  the  mediae- 
val church  with  its  institutional  control  of  hu- 
man life  as  an  apostasy  from  the  original  ideal 
of  Jesus.  This  interpretation,  however,  has  usu- 
ally been  accompanied  by  the  presupposition  that 
Jesus  authoritatively  established  the  Protestant 
system  as  over  against  the  Roman  Catholic  sys- 
tem. Such  an  attitude  toward  the  development 
of  the  church  means  a  failure  to  appreciate  the 
real  significance  of  the  interesting  historical 
process  by  which  the  religion  of  the  first  disci- 
ples of  Jesus  was  transformed  into  the  religion 
of  the  authoritative  Catholic  church.  It  is  only 
as  we  shall  abandon  an  apologetic  attitude  that 
we  shall  be  in  a  position  to  make  clear  to  our- 
selves the  actual  relation  between  ethical  issues 
and  church  discipline  in  the  first  centuries  of 
Christianity.  Some  aspects  of  this  development 
must  now  engage  our  attention. 


6  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

I.      THE  CATASTROPHIC  VIEW   OF  HISTORY 

One  of  the  most  important  influences  in  the 
thinking  of  the  early  church  was  the  current  be- 
lief in  the  speedy  end  of  the  world  and  the  im- 
pending establishment  of  the  Messianic  King- 
dom. There  is  not  time  here,  even  if  the  ques- 
tion could  be  determined  with  certainty,  to  ask 
how  far  the  ideals  of  Jesus  himself  were  shaped 
by  this  current  eschatological  expectation.1  Cer- 
tain it  is  that  the  extant  records  of  his  teachings 
reflect  vividly  that  conception  of  history  which 
proclaims  that  the  supreme  interests  of  man  are 
to  be  found  in  another  world-order.  The  early 
disciples  felt  that  Jesus  had  come  to  enable  them 
to  prepare  for  a  positive  place  in  that  Kingdom 
which  was  not  of  this  world.  After  his  death 
they  felt  themselves  responsible  for  the  perpetu- 
ation and  the  promulgation  of  the  gospel  of  the 

1  On  this  point  see  Mathews :  The  Messianic  Hope  in  the 
New  Testament  (Chicago,  1905);  Sharman:  The  Teach- 
ing of  Jesus  Concerning  the  Future  (Chicago,  1908)  ; 
Muirhead :  The  Eschatology  of  Jesus  (New  York,  1904); 
E.  F.  Scott:  The  Kingdom  and  the  Messiah  (Edinburgh, 
1911). 


ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS  7 

Kingdom  which  he  had  proclaimed.  As  differ- 
ences of  opinion  arose  concerning  details  of  the 
gospel  message,  the  group  of  disciples  inevitably 
felt  themselves  called  to  protect  those  in  their 
care  from  the  wrong  teachings  of  men  who  did 
not  understand  Jesus  as  they  themselves  did.  In 
short,  the  primary  task  of  the  early  community 
was  to  transmit  faithfully  to  incoming  members 
of  the  community  the  essentials  of  the  gospel  of 
Jesus,  and  to  protest  against  any  perversion  of 
that  gospel.  For  the  gospel  provided  the  only 
way  by  which  men  might  become  citizens  of  the 
heavenly  Kingdom. 

The  splendid  moral  tone  preserved  by  this 
eschatological  point  of  view  is  evident  to  every 
reader  of  the  New  Testament.  To  judge  all 
human  conduct  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
heavenly  King,  whose  will  had  been  set  forth 
in  the  precepts  and  life  of  Jesus,  meant  the  most 
elevated  conception  of  life  which  has  ever  ruled 
a  generation  of  men.  But  the  nobility  of  this 
ideal  must  not  blind  us  to  the  fact  that  there 
lurked  in  it  an  element  of  artificiality.  The 


8  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

ethics  of  the  early  Christian  community  is  really 
the  ethics  of  a  separatist  group,  with  almost 
none  of  the  positive  interest  in  culture  which 
seems  to  us  today  so  normal  and  so  right.  The 
mission  of  the  early  apostles  was  to  enable  men 
to  be  "saved"  as  members  of  the  Christian  com- 
munity. Men  might  thus  become  entitled  to  a 
place  in  the  Messianic  Kingdom  which  was 
shortly  to  supplant  the  present  cosmic  and  social 
order. 

Thus  there  is  no  definite  attempt  to  relate 
Christian  ideals  to  the  institutions  of  this  world. 
These  latter  are  to  be  endured;  but  it  is  not 
worth  while  to  consider  means  of  reforming 
and  reconstructing  them,  for  they  will  pass 
away  in  the  great  consummation.  The  warm 
personal  interest  which  Jesus  showed  in  all  hu- 
man enterprises  was,  of  course,  an  essential  ele- 
ment of  the  religious  attitude  of  his  followers; 
and  this  usually  prevented  the  other-worldly 
ideal  of  the  early  church  from  becoming  perni- 
ciously ascetic  or  anti-social.  Nevertheless  the 
ethics  of  that  early  Christian  community  was 


ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS  9 

conceived  as  a  fraternity  ethics,  confined  in  its 
scope  to  the  interests  of  the  group.  These 
interests  were,  indeed,  controlled  by  the  splen- 
did social  ideals  of  the  coming  Kingdom,  where 
righteousness  was  to  prevail;  but  so  far  as  the 
institutions  of  this  world  were  concerned,  there 
was  no  hope  of  eliminating  their  essentially  evil 
nature.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  this  conception  of 
the  ethical  task  of  Christianity  might  readily 
lead  to  an  exclusive  class  consciousness,  which 
would  glory  in  certain  virtues  which  the  group 
had  come  to  esteem  highly  because  they  denoted 
loyalty  to  the  heavenly  Kingdom,  but  which 
might  at  the  same  time  be  of  doubtful  value 
when  measured  by  current  social  welfare.  For 
example,  martyrdom  could  come  to  assume  a 
foremost  place  in  the  estimation  of  the  early 
church  because  it  was  a  conspicuous  method  of 
upholding  the  essentially  other-worldly  emphasis 
which  was  assumed  to  be  fundamental  to  the 
gospel.  Thus  the  fact  that  the  ethics  of  Chris- 
tianity began  its  development  under  the  sway 
of  the  apocalyptic  ideal  meant  that  an  opening 


IO  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

was  made  for  the  habit  of  judging  beliefs  and 
conduct  without  regard  to  the  practicability  of 
these  ideals  in  relation  to  the  continuance  of  the 
institutions  of  this  world.  All  this  implied  a  won- 
derfully heroic  ability  to  defy  worldly  influence; 
but  it  also  involved  difficulties  if  this  attitude 
were  to  be  carried  into  an  age  which  had  come 
to  believe  in  the  permanence  of  social  evolution. 
Indeed,  it  was  perhaps  only  the  genuinely  human 
sympathies  aroused  by  discipleship  to  Jesus 
which  prevented  this  separatist  attitude  from 
becoming  even  more  conspicuous. 

The  ethical  aim  of  primitive  Christianity  may 
be  defined  as  the  purpose  to  keep  the  group  of 
men  bearing  the  name  of  Christ  pure  so  that  at 
his  advent  Christ  might  approve  the  character  of 
the  members  and  admit  them  to  full  citizenship 
in  the  Kingdom  which  he  was  to  establish.  This 
meant  that  the  disciples  must  take  very  seriously 
the  matter  of  moral  discipline.  Ideally,  the 
church  should  be  composed  only  of  those  who 
had  the  mind  of  Christ.  It  was  of  the  utmost 
importance  that  no  lowering  of  the  standards 


ECCLESIASTICAL    ETHICS  II 

should  be  allowed.  For  if  the  church  counte- 
nanced conduct  of  which  Christ  could  not 
approve,  the  entire  membership  would  be  liable 
to  his  displeasure.  Thus  we  find  a  strenuous 
insistence  on  purity  of  life  on  the  part  of  all 
members  of  the  community.  We  see  the  uncom- 
promising severity  exercised  in  the  case  of  Ana- 
nias and  Sapphira,  for  example.  We  must  re- 
member this  aspect  of  the  matter  in  order  to 
understand  how  acute  was  the  problem  of  Gen- 
tile divergences  from  those  customs  which  Jew- 
ish Christians  believed  to  have  been  ordained 
by  God  himself.  If  one  could  be  a  good  Chris- 
tian without  being  circumcised,  where  could  the 
line  be  drawn?  If  the  commands  of  the  Old 
Testament  could  be  violated  in  this  respect,  why 
not  in  others?  In  defending  himself  on  this 
point,  Paul  makes  it  perfectly  clear  that  he  is 
loyal  to  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  that  the 
judaizers  are  engaged  in  an  attempt  to  "pervert 
the  gospel  of  Christ."2  All  disputed  questions 
must  be  decided  by  asking  what  Christ  approves. 
2  See  the  argument  in  Gal.  1 : 6  ff. 


12  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

And  because  Christ  is  in  the  other  world,  ques- 
tions as  to  right  beliefs  and  right  practices  must 
be  determined  by  appeal  to  that  other  world 
rather  than  to  this.  To  ask  concerning  secular 
expediency  would  be  "striving  to  please  men" 
rather  than  attempting  to  be  a  "bond  servant  of 
Christ." 

There  was  thus  laid  upon  the  community 
from  the  first  the  task  of  determining  what  was 
involved  in  the  attainment  of  a  creed  and  an 
ethics  which  should  be  pleasing  to  Christ. 
Whenever  any  member  held  opinions  or  engaged 
in  conduct  which  did  not  seem  in  accordance 
with  the  mind  of  Christ,  some  sort  of  discipline 
would  be  necessary.  Even  Paul,  with  all  his 
emphasis  on  the  doctrine  of  individual  freedom, 
could  not  entirely  avoid  this  necessity.  When 
Jewish  zealots  were  attempting  to  reproduce  in 
the  Galatian  communities  the  legalism  which 
Paul  had  left  behind,  it  was  easy  for  him  to 
exalt  the  ideal  of  freedom.  Still,  even  here  he 
makes  his  appeal  not  as  a  free  lance,  but  as  the 
"bond-servant  of  Christ."  When  he  was  con- 


ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS  13 

fronted  with  the  continuance  of  pagan  ideals  in 
the  church  at  Corinth,  he  was  compelled  to  en- 
ter upon  a  detailed  course  of  discipline.  He 
laid  it  upon  the  conscience  of  the  church  to  be 
active  in  conserving  moral  standards  which 
Christ  could  approve.  To  be  sure,  this  disci- 
pline is  not  ecclesiastical  in  the  formal  sense. 
But  it  has  behind  it  the  belief  that  it  is  the  pri- 
mary duty  of  Christian  people  to  conform  to  a 
standard  which  is  authoritatively  given. 

In  short,  the  ethics  of  early  Christianity  was, 
in  spirit,  church  ethics.  There  was  no  thought 
of  engaging  in  political  or  social  reform.  The 
separatist  ideal  was  dominant.  Let  this  world 
go  its  way  until  the  final  judgment.  Chris- 
tianity is  to  manifest  itself,  not  in  the  transfor- 
mation of  established  institutions,  but  in  the 
formation  of  groups  of  redeemed  men  who  are 
citizens  of  the  heavenly  Kingdom,  and  whose 
life  is  dominated  by  the  principles  of  that 
Kingdom. 

From  this  point  of  view  it  is  easy  to  see  why 
certain  activities  which  we  are  not  accustomed 


14  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

to  regard  as  of  primary  moral  importance 
should  seem  to  the  early  community  supremely 
significant.  Since  only  those  who  were  in  the 
church  could  expect  to  be  saved  in  the  day  of 
judgment,  the  church  felt  its  importance  as  the 
sole  agency  for  the  salvation  of  men.  If  any 
rival  organization  claimed  to  provide  such  salva- 
tion, we  can  realize  the  indignation  which  would 
fill  the  hearts  of  the  faithful.  Even  if  the  rival 
community  were  actuated  by  what  we  might 
regard  as  honorable  motives,  such  as  honesty  of 
opinion  or  desire  for  a  greater  purity  of  life,  its 
existence  would  be  ascribed  to  pride  or  to  wan- 
ton wickedness.  Anyone  preaching  a  false  or 
perverted  gospel  deserved  to  be  anathema. 
Heresy  and  schism  therefore  assume  tremendous 
importance  as  ethical  issues.  It  is  only  as  the 
church  shall  speak  with  a  single  voice  that  the 
way  of  life  may  be  proclaimed  without  danger 
of  misunderstanding.  As  Professor  Thomas  C. 
Hall  has  suggested,  the  attitude  of  a  trade  union 
today  toward  a  "scab"  or  toward  a  rival  organi- 
zation throws  valuable  light  upon  the  attitude 


ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS  15 

of  the  early  church  toward  dissenters  and 
schismatics.3  The  very  fact  that  the  community 
was  a  separatist  group  made  it  inevitable  that 
all  disintegrating  influences  would  be  felt  to  be 
so  dangerous  as  to  justify  the  severest  condem- 
nation. Says  the  author  of  I  Timothy,  "If  any 
man  teach  a  different  doctrine  and  consenteth 
not 'to  sound  words,  even  the  words  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  to  the  doctrine  which  is  ac- 
cording to  godliness,  he  is  puffed  up,  knowing 
nothing,  but  doting  about  questionings  and  dis- 
putes of  words,  whereof  cometh  envy,  strife, 
railings,  evil  surmisings,  wranglings  of  men 
corrupted  in  mind  and  bereft  of  the  truth,  sup- 
posing that  godliness  is  a  way  of  gain."4 

In  the  midst  of  differences  of  opinion  as  to 
what  the  exact  content  of  true  Christian  teach- 
ing was,  it  would  be  necessary  for  the  contend- 
ing parties  to  appeal  to  the  authority  of  Christ. 
The  "true"  church  must  be  able  to  prove  that 

"History  of  Ethics  within  Organized  Christianity  (New 
York,  1910,  p.  102). 
4 1  Timothy  vi :  3  ff. 


1 6  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

it  was  following  the  precepts  of  Jesus  and  faith- 
fully transmitting  to  men  its  sacred  inheritance. 
It  is  impossible  here  to  go  into  the  story  of 
how  this  demand  led  to  the  elaboration  of  the 
theory  that  Jesus  commissioned  the  apostles  to 
be  the  authorized  exponents  and  interpreters  of 
his  will.  It  was  believed  that  these  apostles  left 
in  their  writings  the  doctrines  which  they  had 
received  from  Christ,  and  ordained  their  suc- 
cessors with  power  to  give  correct  interpreta- 
tion to  those  writings.  Thus  arose  the  canonical 
New  Testament  and  the  authoritative  church  of 
the  bishops  as  the  only  genuine  channel  through 
which  men  might  learn  how  to  fit  themselves 
for  the  favorable  judgment  of  Christ.5 

The  practical  necessity  for  such  an  authorita- 
tive "rule  of  faith  and  practice"  is  evident  to 
any  one  familiar  with  the  development  of  re- 
ligious life  in  the  second  century  of  the  Chris- 

8  This  development  has  been  described  in  detail  by  Har- 
nack  in  his  History  of  Dogma  (London,  1896).  Other  ex- 
cellent accounts  in  briefer  and  more  popular  form  are  in 
E.  C.  Moore's  The  New  Testament  in  the  Christian  Church 
(New  York,  1904),  and  in  G.  H.  Ferris'  The  Formation 
of  the  New  Testament  (Philadelphia,  1907). 


ECCLESIASTICAL    ETHICS  17 

tian  era.  At  that  period  the  breakdown  of  the 
older  national  and  local  cults  was  evident  to  all. 
New  forms  of  religion,  or  reinterpretations  of 
older  cults,  came  into  existence,  proclaiming  the 
doctrine  of  individual  redemption  leading  to 
eternal  life.  Some  of  the  more  splendid  and 
imposing  oriental  cults  took  the  name  of  Chris- 
tianity and  attempted  to  turn  the  ethical  and 
religious  energy  of  the  Christians  into  channels 
of  esoteric  culture  and  ascetic  philosophy.  It 
was  the  growing  power  of  the  intellectual  and 
mystical  interpretation  of  Christianity  known  as 
Gnosticism  which  compelled  the  conscious  organi- 
zation of  the  Catholic  Church  with  its  claim  to 
be  the  authorized  guardian  of  the  tradition  which 
Christ  had  committed  to  his  apostles,  and  which 
they  had  partially  committed  to  writing  and  par- 
tially transmitted  to  their  successors,  the  bishops 
of  the  apostolic  churches.  If  one  now  wished 
to  know  the  mind  of  Christ,  there  was  only  one 
sure  way  to  find  out.  One  must  ask  the  apos- 
tolic church,  which  would  tell  him  the  meaning 
of  the  authoritative  apostolic  writings. 


1 8  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

This  development,  it  should  be  remembered, 
was  due  to  the  apocalyptic  emphasis  of  the  early 
centuries.  It  grew  out  of  the  fact  that  religion 
was  not  thought  of  as  a  force  to  transform  this 
world,  but  rather  as  a  means  of  making  one  a 
citizen  of  the  heavenly  Kingdom.  The  princi- 
ples of  religion,  therefore,  could  not  be  discov- 
ered by  a  study  of  the  "natural"  history  of  man, 
but  must  be  drawn  from  a  supernatural  order. 
Thus  the  empirical  attitude  toward  human  prob- 
lems suggested  by  the  method  of  Jesus  was  sup- 
planted by  the  belief  that  moral  principles  were 
to  be  determined,  not  by  observation  and  induc- 
tion, but  by  exegesis  of  authoritative  scriptures. 
This  ideal  has  persisted  through  the  centuries, 
and  is  still  the  fundamental  presupposition  of 
religious  education  in  most  churches.  The  ad- 
vantages in  being  thus  compelled  to  come  into  an 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  formulation  of  the 
Christian  ideals  belonging  to  that  classical  age  of 
primitive  enthusiasm  is  indisputable.  But  in  an 
age  when  a  moral  value  is  being  more  and  more 
attached  to  honest  and  thorough-going  empirical 


ECCLESIASTICAL    ETHICS 

observation,  the  attitude  of  mind  which  is  con- 
tent with  taking  conclusions  ready-made  from 
ancient  literature  comes  into  conflict  with  one  of 
the  most  precious  and  vigorous  moral  convic- 
tions of  the  age.  Every  pastor  and  teacher  con- 
stantly meets  spiritual  tragedies  growing  out  of 
this  conflict. 


2.       THE     ECCLESIASTICAL     DEFINITION     OF     THE 
CONDITIONS  OF  SALVATION 

As  has  been  said,  the  task  of  primitive  Chris- 
tianity was  to  fit  men  to  become  citizens  of  the 
coming  Kingdom.  But  entrance  into  that  King- 
dom was  by  no  means  easy.  The  standards 
which  Jesus  proclaimed  made  it  evident  that 
only  those  who  were  willing  to  take  upon  them- 
selves considerable  sacrifices  of  worldly  goods 
could  hope  for  his  approval.  Indeed,  if  these 
standards  were  rigidly  applied,  men  might  well 
ask,  'Who  then  can  be  saved?"  It  was,  how- 
ever, characteristic  of  the  teaching  of  Jesus  and 
of  the  community  calling  itself  by  his  name  that 


2O  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

the  strictness  of  these  moral  requirements  was 
accompanied  by  a  profound  evangelical  purpose 
to  make  accessible  to  as  many  as  possible  the 
blessings  which  God  had  provided  for  those  who 
should  accept  the  way  of  salvation  provided  by 
him. 

Thus  the  proclamation  of  the  forgiveness  of 
sins  was  essential  to  the  gospel  message.  This 
meant  that  if  a  man  had  committed  wrongs 
which  would  be  disapproved  by  Christ,  he  might 
still  by  repentance  and  change  of  heart  find  a 
welcome,  and  be  assured  that  his  former  sins 
would  not  stand  against  him  in  the  estimation 
of  the  judge. 

But  the  moment  this  evangelical  ideal  of  for- 
giveness was  put  into  practice,  it  became  neces- 
sary to  determine  precisely  the  conditions  under 
which  a  penitent  sinner  might  be  assured  of  the 
forgiving  grace  of  Christ.  Were  there  any  sins 
so  serious  that  forgiveness  was  impossible?  If 
a  man  who  had  once  been  forgiven  returned  to 
his  former  way  of  life,  was  there  the  possibility 
of  an  efficacious  second  repentance?  And  if  so, 


ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS  21 

was  repentance  to  be  granted  this  second  time 
on  precisely  the  same  terms  as  at  first?  How 
far  could  the  community  go  in  the  direction  of 
leniency  without  the  danger  of  so  lowering  the 
standards  as  to  bring  upon  the  entire  church  the 
displeasure  of  the  Lord?  In  the  absence  of 
Jesus,  the  community  must  take  upon  itself  the 
responsibility  for  determining  these  important 
issues.  As  a  result  of  grappling  with  this  prob- 
lem there  arose  two  important  developments  of 
doctrine,  both  of  which  required  for  their  com- 
pletion the  recognition  of  ecclesiastical  authority. 
These  two  developments  were  the  doctrine  of 
supernatural  regeneration,  and  the  doctrine  of 
penance. 

The  doctrine  of  regeneration  received  its 
most  important  impulse  from  the  apostle  Paul. 
He  had  come  into  the  Christian  life  through  a 
tremendous  crisis,  in  which  he  saw  a  direct  di- 
vine interposition.  He  recalled  the  days  in 
which  he  had  been  persecuting  the  disciples  of 
Jesus,  all  in  good  conscience;  he  thus  realized 
that  he  could  not  trust  the  dictates  of  his  un- 


22  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

christianized  heart.  This  discovery  he  univer- 
salized in  the  doctrine  of  the  natural  moral  ina- 
bility of  every  man.  There  is  in  human  nature 
an  evil  power  which  prevents  man  from  doing 
good  so  long  as  it  is  permitted  to  hold  sway. 
The  first  step  in  moral  reformation,  then,  is  to 
seek  divine  deliverance  from  this  power  of  sin. 
Now  exactly  as  Paul  pictured  the  power  of 
evil  as  a  mysterious  force  which  does  its  work 
essentially  outside  of  consciousness,  so  he  pic- 
tures the  divine  redemptive  power  as  a  mystery 
which  lies  beyond  the  reach  of  human  compre- 
hension. His  own  experience  of  conversion  led 
him  to  feel  that  he  had  been  seized  by  a  heavenly 
power  without  planning  or  desire  on  his  own 
part.  He  had  been  changed  from  an  enemy  of 
Jesus  Christ  to  a  devoted  follower  without  any 
moral  intention  of  making  the  change  at  all.  It 
had  come  in  spite  of  himself.  Paul  therefore 
felt  that  there  is  a  divine  power  which  can 
make  a  man  good,  even  when  the  man's  own 
moral  intentions  are  not  strong  enough  to  lead 
him  to  forsake  evil.  He  interpreted  this  mys- 


ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS  23 

terious  power  as  the  living  presence  of  Christ 
in  the  soul  of  the  believer.  The  consequences  of 
this  miraculous  regeneration,  therefore,  are  pre- 
cisely what  would  occur  if  one's  own  control  of 
his  life  were  supplanted  by  the  inner  control  of 
Christ.  "It  is  no  longer  I  that  live,  but  Christ 
liveth  in  me."6 

We  are  so  accustomed  to  the  profound  re- 
ligious and  moral  value  of  this  Pauline  doctrine 
of  the  indwelling  Christ  that  we  often  lose  sight 
of  the  fact  that,  if  the  mystical  experience  which 
grows  out  of  the  doctrine  is  not  kept  in  the  fore- 
ground, regeneration  may  be  regarded  as  an 
essentially  magical  thing.  For  in  the  Pauline 
doctrine,  moral  character  is  bestowed  upon  one 
by  the  grace  of  God.  It  is  essentially  a  miracu- 
lous donation.  Any  one  who  has  not  received 
this  gift  of  the  righteousness  of  God  inevitably 
sins  and  falls  short  of  the  glory  of  God.  Recent 
investigations  have  brought  this  Pauline  concep- 
tion of  redemption  into  close  relationship  to  the 
mystic  doctrines  of  purification  which  had  found 

*  Galatians  ii  :20. 


24  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

expression  in  the  various  rituals  of  Greek  and 
oriental  mystery  cults.  Some  interpreters  of 
Paul  believe  that  he,  too,  shared  this  concep- 
tion of  magical  initiation  into  possession  of 
occult  divine  power.7  Be  that  as  it  may,  it  was 
not  unnatural  for  men  familiar  with  the  ideals 
and  rites  of  these  mystery  cults  to  see  in  baptism 
and  in  the  Lord's  Supper  means  of  partaking  of 
the  divine  life,  so  that  one  might  think  and  act 
in  perfect  purity  in  this  world  and  inherit  im- 
mortality after  death. 

We  should  remember  that  this  sacramental 
doctrine  of  regeneration  meant  that  a  doorway 
of  hope  was  open  to  those  who  might  other- 
wise despair  of  being  able  to  enter  the  kingdom 
on  the  basis  of  actual  moral  desert.  They  might 
now  cease  to  trust  their  own  righteousness,  and 

1 1t  is  only  within  the  past  few  years  that  this  been  af- 
firmed by  Protestant  scholars.  The  most  thorough-going 
investigation  was  made  by  Reitzenstein,  in  "Die  hellen- 
istischen  Mysterienreligionen."  (Leipsig  and  Berlin:  Teub- 
ner,  1910.)  Other  suggestive  discussions  are  found  in 
Lake,  "The  Earlier  Epistles  of  St.  Paul"  (London:  Riv- 
ingtons,  1911),  pp.  40-46,  210-217,  433-435,  and  in  Percy 
Gardner,  "The  Religious  Experience  of  St.  Paul"  (New 
York:  Putnam,  1911),  Chapter  IV. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  ETHICS  25 

might  rely  on  the  righteousness  of  God  which 
was  freely  granted  to  them  as  a  gift  made  pos- 
sible by  the  work  of  atonement  wrought  by 
Jesus  Christ  and  made  available  in  the  sacra- 
ments of  baptism  and  of  the  eucharist.  No 
more  striking  testimony  to  the  supreme  ethical 
power  of  the  experience  of  vital  contact  with 
Christ  could  be  found  than  in  the  fact  that  the 
representatives  of  this  sacramental  ideal  actually 
seem  to  us  to  have  a  truer  and  deeper  apprehen- 
sion of  the  spiritual  power  of  Christianity  than 
did  those  who  plodded  on  in  the  more  prosaic 
pathway  of  external  moral  discipline.  Instinc- 
tively we  rate  the  ideal  of  Augustine  higher  than 
that  of  Pelagius. 

But  it  is  characteristic  of  a  sacramental  ideal 
of  salvation  that  it  demands  ecclesiastical  con- 
trol. If  the  sacrament  is  the  actual  bearer  of 
divine  grace  it  necessarily  embodies  a  mysterious 
power  which  must  be  properly  administered. 
For  the  amateur  to  attempt  to  make  use  of  the 
sacred  rites  would  be  as  foolish  as  for  an  ig- 
noramus to  come  into  contact  with  a  "live  wire." 


26  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

Misuse  of  the  mysteries  could  produce  disaster. 
Paul  suggested  to  the  Corinthians  that  cases  of 
disease  and  death  in  their  community  could  be 
traced  to  irregularities  in  the  observation  of  the 
Lord's  Supper.8  If  through  baptism  we  may 
attain  a  morality  otherwise  inaccessible  to  us,  it 
is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  baptism  be 
rightly  performed.  If  administered  in  the  name 
of  John  it  did  not  bring  with  it  the  gift  of  the 
Spirit,  and  must  be  repeated  in  the  name  of 
Jesus.9 

The  sacraments  of  salvation,  therefore,  must 
be  put  into  the  hands  of  experts  who  were  com- 
petent to  administer  them  in  proper  ways  and 
to  proper  persons.  But  this  meant  ecclesiastical 
control  of  the  means  by  which  men  were  miracu- 
lously enabled  to  transcend  the  spiritual  weak- 
ness of  the  natural  life,  so  as  to  become  fit  can- 
didates for  the  blessings  of  the  Kingdom.  The 
inevitable  corollary  is  the  doctrine  that  there  is 
a  difference  between  the  life  of  a  properly  bap- 

"  I  Cor.  xi  :3O. 
*Act  xix:i-6. 


ECCLESIASTICAL    ETHICS  27 

tised  man  and  one  who  is  not  baptised,  even  if 
the  moral  activity  of  the  unbaptised  man  be 
seemingly  of  quite  as  high  a  grade  as  that  of 
his  Christian  brother.  In  short,  mere  member- 
ship in  the  church  makes  a  man  good.  Augus- 
tine's famous  verdict  on  the  virtues  of  the 
pagans  is  in  point  here.  For  him  these  virtues 
were  merely  "splendid  vices,"  because  a  pagan, 
no  matter  how  admirable  his  life  might  seem, 
had  not  received  the  sacramental  grace  which 
alone  could  purge  away  the  original  corruption 
which  is  the  innate  possession  of  every  child  of 
Adam. 

Thus  the  admirable  purpose  of  Christianity 
to  give  to  men  the  certainty  that  they  could  rely 
on  a  divine  power  to  rescue  them  from  moral  in- 
ability opened  the  door  for  definitions  of  moral- 
ity resting  on  ecclesiastical  distinctions.  These, 
when  pushed  to  logical  conclusions,  brought  con- 
fusion into  the  moral  perceptions  of  men.  For 
if  what  seems  to  men  to  be  morally  admirable 
is  in  God's  sight  really  worthy  of  condemna- 
tion; and  if  the  ground  of  condemnation  is  sim- 


28  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

ply  in  the  fact  that  the  seemingly  moral  man  has 
not  been  baptised,  the  only  way  in  which  to  be 
sure  of  one's  ground  is  to  abandon  personal 
judgments  and  trust  to  the  dictates  of  the 
church,  in  whose  hands  lies  the  power  to  fur- 
nish the  necessary  sacramental  aid  to  morality. 
So  soon  as  this  attitude  of  mind  is  assured,  it 
becomes  natural  for  those  activities  which  per- 
tain to  the  institutional  prosperity  of  the  church 
to  be  magnified,  and  moral  emphasis  becomes 
decidedly  artificial.  How  deeply  ingrained  this 
ecclesiastical  consciousness  has  become  in  our 
moral  ideals  may  be  seen  in  the  exaggerated 
importance  attached  to  denominational  distinc- 
tions resting  on  differences  in  ritual  or  creed. 
The  mythical  visitor  from  Mars,  whom  it  is 
convenient  to  summon  whenever  we  wish  an  un- 
conventional judgment,  would  doubtless  be  puz- 
zled to  explain  why  certain  churches  should  not 
allow  in  the  pulpit  men  whose  power  to  speak 
to  edification  is  unquestioned,  but  who  have  not 
been  ordained  in  a  specific  way;  or  why  certain 
bodies  of  Christians  feel  that  Christianity  would 


ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS 

be  endangered  if  a  disciple  of  Christ  noted  for 
purity  of  life,  but  who  had  not  been  baptised 
in  a  particular  way,  were  to  be  allowed  to  eat 
at  the  table  of  the  Lord  with  those  who  were 
properly  baptised.  The  themes  which  occupy  the 
attention  of  the  editors  of  some  denominational 
papers  are  in  large  part  survivals  of  the  feeling 
that  a  superior  moral  life  is  attained  because  of 
ecclesiastical  regularity.  This  attitude  repre- 
sents the  continuation  into  modern  times  of  Au- 
gustine's judgment  concerning  the  virtues  of 
the  heathen.  Sometimes  this  supposed  moral 
superiority  of  ecclesiastical  conformity  begets  a 
self-satisfaction  on  the  part  of  church  members 
which  engenders  a  deplorable  lack  of  sensitive- 
ness to  some  moral  delinquencies  which  seem 
self-evident  to  the  secular  mind.  But  while  rec- 
ognizing these  defects,  we  shall  fail  to  do  jus- 
tice to  this  ecclesiastical  aspect  of  the  spiritual 
life  unless  we  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  its  evil 
aspects  are  due  simply  to  a  distortion  of  the 
evangelical  affirmation  that  the  individual  who 
avails  himself  of  what  the  gospel  offers  may 


30  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

expect  his  moral  capacity  to  be  enlarged  through 
the  grace  of  God.  It  is  only  when  this  ideal  is 
disassociated  from  the  self-evident  moral  duties 
of  the  social  situation  that  it  becomes  morally 
reprehensible.  The  actual  transformation  of 
life  which  has  taken  place  in  the  case  of  thou- 
sands of  Christians  because  of  belief  in  this  su- 
pernatural help  is  perhaps  the  most  characteristic 
and  permanent  contribution  of  Christianity. 

Another  aspect  of  this  evangelical  desire  of 
Christianity  to  make  available  for  as  many  as 
possible  the  resources  of  divine  help  found  ex- 
pression in  the  doctrine  of  penance.  We  Protes- 
tants are  so  imbued  with  the  Lutheran  polemic 
against  the  abuse  of  this  doctrine  that  it  is  diffi- 
cult for  us  to  do  justice  to  it.  Really,  it,  like 
the  sacramentalism  which  we  have  just  dis- 
cussed, was  due  to  the  evangelical  motive. 
Jesus  came  not  only  to  proclaim  a  better  right- 
eousness, but  also — we  may  perhaps  say  pri- 
marily— to  seek  and  to  save  those  who,  judged 
by  strict  standards  of  morality,  had  no  right  to 
hope  for  admission  to  the  Kingdom.  In  later 


ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS  31 

days  there  were  always  those  who  wished  the 
church  to  stand  for  so  rigid  an  interpretation 
of  righteousness  that  the  primary  activity  of  the 
community  would  have  been  directed  to  the  dis- 
cipline and  exclusion  of  deficient  members.  But 
these  puritans  were  usually  in  the  minority. 
Something  of  the  mercy  revealed  in  the  life  and 
teachings  of  Jesus  characterized  those  who  were 
most  worthy  to  take  the  leadership  of  the 
church.  While  there  were  not  wanting  bitter 
controversies  over  this  question,  it  became  in- 
creasingly the  policy  of  the  church  to  provide 
every  possible  help  to  those  who  had  lapsed,  but 
who  might  again  become  true  disciples.  The 
form  which  this  help  took  was  the  practice  of 
suggesting  ways  in  which  genuine  sorrow  for 
sin  might  be  expressed  and  the  soul  be  disci- 
plined into  greater  loyalty  to  the  will  of  God. 
Since  sin  is  usually  due  to  yielding  to  the  blan- 
dishments of  this  world,  the  evident  way  in 
which  to  cure  the  soul  is  by  abstinence  from  the 
pleasant  things  of  this  life.  Tertullian,  in  his 
treatise  "On  Repentance,"  suggests  certain  very 


32  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

practical  exercises  as  a  "discipline  for  man's 
prostration  and  humiliation,  enjoining  a  de- 
meanor calculated  to  move  to  mercy."  The  pen- 
itent one  is  to  "lie  in  sackcloth  and  ashes,  to 
cover  his  body  in  mourning,  to  lay  low  the  spirit 
in  sorrows,  to  exchange  for  severe  treatment  the 
sins  which  he  has  committed;  moreover,  to 
know  no  food  and  drink  but  such  as  is  plain — 
not  for  the  stomach's  sake,  to  wit — but  for  the 
soul's."  Tertullian  goes  on  to  say  that  the  pur- 
pose of  this  is  by  a  self-inflicted  punishment  to 
avert  the  penalty  which  God  would  rightly  in- 
flict upon  the  sinner.  "All  this  may,  by  itself 
pronouncing  against  the  sinner,  stand  in  the 
place  of  God's  indignation,  and  by  temporal 
mortification  (I  will  not  say  frustrate,  but)  ex- 
punge eternal  punishment.  Believe  me,  the  less 
quarter  you  give  yourself,  the  more  will  God 
give  you."  10 

Such  counsels  are  evidence  of  the  earnest 
spirit  which  prevailed.  It  was  no  light  thing 
to  be  restored  to  full  membership  in  the  com- 

10  De  Pcenitentia,  IX. 


ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS  33 

munity  which  one  had  disgraced  by  his  conduct. 
There  must  be  outer  evidence  of  penitence,  and 
definite  discipline  of  the  soul  as  well  as  inner 
sorrow. 

But  just  how  much  of  this  outer  discipline 
was  necessary?  Could  it  be  left  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  individual?  The  necessity  of 
standardizing  the  practices  of  penance  became 
acute  after  the  Decian  persecution.  Under  the 
pressure  of  that  terrible  inquisition,  hundreds 
of  Christians  forswore  their  faith  either  by  di- 
rectly offering  the  sacrifices  required  by  the  gov- 
ernment, or  by  the  scarcely  less  reprehensible 
means  of  bribing  inspectors  to  give  a  certificate 
of  immunity.  After  the  persecution  was  over, 
these  Christians  were  generally  stricken  with  re- 
morse, and  desired  to  be  restored  to  membership 
in  the  church.  Differences  of  opinion  on  this 
matter  proved  to  be  serious,  and  led  to  many  a 
bitter  controversy.  It  was  evident  that  moral 
confusion  must  prevail  so  long  as  different  meas- 
ures of  the  guilt  of  apostasy  were  in  use.  The 
Catholic  Church  must  speak  with  one  voice  on 


34  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

so  important  a  question.  Thus  penance  was 
brought  under  ecclesiastical  regulation.  All  this 
was  in  the  interests  of  genuine  moral  discipline. 
It  represented  the  evangelical  purpose  to  make 
clear  and  definite  the  way  in  which  a  penitent 
sinner  might  be  restored  to  the  joy  of  salva- 
tion. The  abuses  of  the  system  of  penance 
should  not  blind  us  to  its  good  qualities.  If 
there  were  those  who  treated  the  entire  matter 
on  a  commercial  basis,  and  shrewdly  calculated 
the  cost  of  various  forms  of  self-indulgence, 
there  were  also  those  who  were  able,  by  follow- 
ing the  pathway  of  penitential  discipline,  to  re- 
gain the  moral  poise  and  positiveness  which 
they  had  lost. 

Moreover,  in  the  period  of  moral  confusion 
resulting  from  the  breakdown  of  the  classic 
ideals  and  the  shifting  of  men  from  one  re- 
ligious belief  to  another,  the  action  of  the  church 
in  seeking  to  standardize  morality  was  of  im- 
mense social  importance,  even  if  it  was  not  un- 
dertaken on  the  basis  of  so  broad  a  social 
philosophy  as  we  should  today  demand.  As  the 


ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS  35 

system  of  penance  has  been  perfected,  it  gives 
to  a  father  confessor  who  really  believes  in  so- 
cial ethics  an  admirable  opportunity  to  influence 
the  lives  of  his  people  in  right  directions.  More- 
over, we  should  not  forget  the  breadth  of  schol- 
arship which  made  a  place  in  the  Christian  sys- 
tem for  the  cardinal  virtues  of  the  Greeks.  On 
the  whole,  the  fair-minded  student  of  church 
history  can  have  only  admiration  for  the  zeal 
and  the  wisdom  displayed  by  the  great  leaders 
of  the  mediaeval  church. 

So  long  as  society  remained  content  to  follow 
the  lead  of  the  church  in  all  respects,  this  ec- 
clesiastical control  of  belief  and  of  activity  was 
wholesome.  But  there  was  always  the  tendency 
to  forget  the  importance  of  any  moral  duties 
which  did  not  bear  the  approval  of  the  church. 
In  particular,  lack  of  obedience  to  the  voice  of 
the  church  was  counted  the  supreme  sin.  Thus 
a  ban  was  put  upon  any  investigations  or  experi- 
ments which  did  not  promise  conformity  to  the 
ecclesiastical  standards.  Still,  during  the  Middle 
Ages,  the  scholarship  of  the  church  was  broad 


36  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

enough,  and  the  aspirations  of  men  convention- 
alized enough  to  make  the  control  of  life  by  the 
church  a  positive  power  for  good.  The  specific 
reasons  for  this  valuation  of  the  authority  ideal 
must  now  occupy  our  attention. 


3-      THE   AUTHORITY   IDEAL   AS   THE    MORAL    EX- 
PRESSION   OF   SOCIAL    NEEDS 

In  the  year  410,  Alaric,  with  his  army  of 
Goths  having  invaded  as  far  as  Rome,  found 
the  imperial  power  unable  to  prevent  the  cap- 
ture of  the  city.  This  conquest  was  of  profound 
significance.  It  meant  the  visible  proof  of  that 
which  is  now  apparent  to  every  student  of  his- 
tory, viz.,  that  imperial  Rome  had  lost  its  real 
power  over  men.  Tradition  tells  us  that  the 
conqueror,  in  sacking  the  city,  left  untouched  the 
treasures  of  the  church,  so  great  was  his  rev- 
erence for  that  institution  of  God.  Possibly 
under  the  influence  of  this  event,  Augustine 
wrote  his  famous  "City  of  God,"  in  which  he 
set  forth  a  philosophy  of  history,  which  subor- 


ECCLESIASTICAL  ETHICS  37 

dinates  all  human  organizations  to  the  rule  of 
God.  With  the  downfall  of  pagan  institutions, 
the  church  as  the  visible  organ  of  God's  will 
assumed  a  new  importance.  Circumstances  soon 
forced  upon  the  church  the  assumption  of  politi- 
cal undertakings  on  an  ever  increasing  scale. 
More  and  more  as  Italy  was  left  to  herself  by 
the  Eastern  emperors  did  it  become  necessary 
for  the  bishops  to  take  up  responsibilities  which 
normally  would  have  rested  on  the  civil  govern- 
ment. 

Now  the  barbarians  who  conquered  Rome 
were  well  aware  that  their  victory  was  one  of 
brute  force  only.  They  could  not  forget  the 
centuries  during  which  that  ancient  civilization 
had  held  them  in  check  and  had  introduced 
among  them  new  ways  of  living.  Everywhere 
in  Europe  they  could  see  the  roads  which  bar- 
barian skill  could  never  have  constructed,  the 
scientific  agriculture  which  made  possible  the 
abandonment  of  nomadic  habits  and  the  growth 
of  wealth,  the  architecture  which  was  utterly  be- 
yond the  reach  of  the  rude  builders  of  the  north, 


38  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

the  engineering  which  could  so  easily  transform 
a  wilderness  into  a  habitation  for  man,  and  the 
law  by  which  the  nations  of  the  earth  could  be 
held  in  check.  All  these  signs  of  greatness  were 
Rome's  possession;  and  the  conquerors  knew 
that  although  they  might  gain  a  physical  victory, 
they  nevertheless  did  not  possess  the  spiritual 
prowess  which  had  made  Rome  great.  Natu- 
rally, therefore,  they  longed  to  acquire  for  them- 
selves the  qualities  which  had  contributed  to  the 
greatness  of  the  ancient  empire. 

This  meant  that  Europe  was  eager  to  go  to 
school  and  to  learn  from  antiquity.  But  the 
only  institution  either  able  or  willing  to  give 
instruction  in  the  secrets  of  ancient  civilization 
was  the  church.  Thus  on  the  one  hand  was  the 
eager,  acquisitive  spirit  of  the  barbarian,  and  on 
the  other  hand  the  missionary  spirit  of  the 
church.  The  times  were  prepared  for  a  system 
of  authoritative  education  in  the  principles  of 
living.  In  all  realms  of  life  it  was  felt  that  the 
highest  ideals  must  be  sought  in  the  past.  These 
had  already  been  formulated  in  perfect  theories 


ECCLESIASTICAL    ETHICS  39 

and  doctrines.  The  natural  progress  of  civiliza- 
tion was  felt  to  consist  in  accepting  these  ideals 
from  that  greater  antiquity,  and,  by  trying  to  put 
them  into  practice,  to  raise  the  level  of  existing 
customs. 

This  attitude  of  mind  is  reflected  in  the  philo- 
sophical ideals  of  the  early  Middle  Ages,  when 
the  question  as  to  whether  the  universal  was 
ante  rem  or  not  was  decided  in  the  affirmative. 
Since  men  were  not  able  to  develop  out  of  their 
own  resources  satisfactory  generalizations  for 
the  guidance  of  life,  since,  moreover,  it  was  evi- 
dent that  there  existed  ready-made,  coming 
down  from  olden  times,  principles  of  thought 
and  action  which  could  be  first  learned  and  then 
put  into  practice,  the  habit  grew  of  thinking  of 
all  particular  ideas  and  all  particular  practices 
as  merely  single  expressions  of  a  universal  rule 
which  antedated  the  particular  attempts  to  real- 
ize the  truth  in  practice.  Truth  first  exists  in 
universal  form.  It  must  be  "given"  to  the  hu- 
man mind,  and  then  expressed  in  life  and  action. 
It  was  easy  for  men  who  held  such  presupposi- 


4O  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

tions  to  think  of  the  church  as  the  divinely  au- 
thorized custodian  of  infallible  and  perfect  doc- 
trines which  the  world  must  learn,  and  by  which 
all  men  must  live. 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  authority  ideal 
was  the  most  natural  and  efficient  means  of  pro- 
moting the  higher  life  of  the  early  middle  ages. 
But  natural  as  it  was  for  that  age,  it  resulted 
in  an  ethical  attitude  quite  different  from  the 
open-minded  freedom  characteristic  of  Jesus 
and  of  Paul.  It  is  easy  to  point  out  the  formal 
difference  between  the  closed  system  of  ecclesi- 
astical doctrine  which  came  to  prevail  and  the 
vital,  sympathetic  insight  which  characterizes 
the  New  Testament.  But  as  we  have  seen,  this 
later  ecclesiastical  system  was  the  inevitable  re- 
sult of  facing  the  facts  of  a  decadent  world  un- 
der the  sway  of  an  apocalyptic  view  of  history. 

The  positive  achievements  of  the  church  dur- 
ing the  middle  ages  may  well  arouse  our  admira- 
tion. The  complete  way  in  which  Christianity 
was  able  to  adapt  itself  to  the  actual  situation 
argues  the  persistence  even  in  this  ecclesiastical 


ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS  4! 

form  of  that  spirit  of  truthful  recognition  of  the 
facts  which  is  essential  to  any  permanent  tri- 
umph. The  method  of  authority  is  always  ethi- 
cally wholesome  whenever  a  people  is  not  able 
to  develop  out  of  its  own  resources  so  successful 
a  philosophy  of  life  as  can  be  derived  from  a 
study  of  other  times  or  other  peoples.  Witness 
the  way  in  which  the  nations  of  the  Orient  today 
are  accepting  on  authority  the  science  of  the 
western  world,  learning  first  as  ready-made  the- 
ories the  doctrines  which  they  later  try  to  put 
into  practice,  much  as  the  mediaeval  leaders 
brought  the  treasures  of  the  church  to  their  own 
people  for  the  enrichment  of  their  life.  So  long 
as  men  know  their  own  relative  inability  to 
achieve  for  themselves  the  best  things  of  life,  the 
attitude  of  docile  learning  from  authority  is 
natural  and  ethical.  It  is  only  when  the  insti- 
tution which  possesses  the  authority  proceeds  to 
exercise  it  in  a  way  which  contradicts  the  ideals 
of  men  that  its  method  becomes  ethically  repre- 
hensible. If  our  present  culture  should  decay  as 
did  the  culture  of  Rome,  if  some  time  in  the 


42  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

future  men  should  have  no  original  power  to 
create  satisfactory  ideals  by  which  to  govern  life, 
there  would  probably  again  come  an  attitude  of 
reverence  for  the  past.  The  best  ethics  would 
then  consist  in  learning  and  putting  into  practice 
the  principles  which  were  derived  from  a  study 
of  some  bygone  golden  age.  But  whenever  the 
present  is  vigorous  enough  to  understand  its 
problems  and  to  create  its  ideals  directly  from  an 
adequate  insight  into  these  problems,  any  insist- 
ence on  the  past  merely  because  of  its  traditional 
sacredness  is  sure  to  discredit  the  moral  control 
of  the  institution  which  thus  preserves  the  ideal 
of  authoritative  control  after  it  has  ceased  to  be 
the  natural  expression  of  the  moral  conscious- 
ness. 

This  brief  sketch  of  the  progress  of  the  Chris- 
tian ideal  will  serve  to  make  clear  to  us  the  rea- 
sons for  the  moral  power  of  the  conception  of 
an  authoritative  theology.  Christianity  took 
shape  in  a  decadent  age,  when  the  traditional 
standards  of  morality  and  religious  devotion 


ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS  43 

were  being  dissolved  by  the  new  cosmopolitan- 
ism. Moreover,  among  men  of  Jewish  descent, 
the  existence  of  an  alien  political  authority  with 
apparently  invulnerable  power  led  to  a  despair 
of  any  human  efforts  which  might  be  directed 
toward  the  bringing  in  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
The  obvious  way  of  escape  from  despair  was 
by  trust  in  the  power  of  God  to  overthrow  the 
Kingdoms  of  this  world  and  to  establish  his  sole 
rule  through  the  Messiah.  The  early  Christians 
looked  for  the  return  of  Christ  to  establish  this 
Kingdom.  Thus  the  primary  ethical  and  re- 
ligious duty  was  to  develop  a  citizenship  worthy 
of  that  heavenly  Kingdom.  Accordingly  Chris- 
tian ethics  was  detached  from  the  social  inter- 
ests of  this  world.  The  necessity  for  maintain- 
ing in  their  purity  the  standards  of  that  other- 
worldly Kingdom  led  to  dependence  on  the 
supreme  authority  of  the  scriptures  which  em- 
body the  divine  revelation  of  the  will  of  God. 
The  necessity  for  discipline  and  instruction  in 
the  principles  of  the  Kingdom  led  to  the  or- 
ganization of  the  church  as  the  authoritative 


44  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

guardian  of  doctrine  and  of  morals.  The  dis- 
solution of  the  Roman  empire  thrust  upon  the 
church  the  large  task  of  civilizing  the  barbarians 
of  Europe,  and  led  to  the  extension  of  its  sphere 
of  authority.  At  the  same  time  these  barbarians 
were  morally  disposed  to  accept  the  authorita- 
tive attitude  of  the  church  as  one  which  was 
proper  and  desirable.  The  Middle  Ages  there- 
fore established  in  the  minds  of  men  the  con- 
ception of  an  authoritative  divine  control  ex- 
pressed in  divinely  given  scriptures  and  inter- 
preted by  the  divinely  commissioned  church. 

During  the  long  centuries  of  life  under  this 
regime  it  was  taken  for  granted  that  this  ideal 
of  authoritative,  institutional  control  was  the 
perpetually  right  way  of  human  progress.  It 
was  forgotten — or  rather  it  was  never  realized 
at  all — that  this  very  system  of  authority  had 
a  historical  origin,  and  that  its  details  were  em- 
pirically worked  out  to  meet  the  demands  of 
definite  historical  exigencies.  Thus  as  theology 
was  perfected,  it  set  forth  the  mediaeval  doc- 
trines as  "infallibly"  true  and  as  "absolutely" 


ECCLESIASTICAL    ETHICS  45 

binding  on  the  conscience.  The  alleged  super- 
natural origin  of  these  doctrines  gave  to  them 
a  divine  prestige  which  made  it  necessary  to 
subordinate  all  merely  "natural"  theories  to  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  ecclesiastical  system.  The 
primary  moral  duty  of  man  in  Catholicism  was 
then,  and  continues  to  be  today,  an  absolute  sub- 
mission to  the  divine  authority  of  the  church. 

But  the  time  came  when  the  growing  intel- 
lectual powers  of  men  reached  out  in  new  ex- 
periments; and  some  of  these  experiments  met 
with  surprising  success  in  enlarging  the  borders 
of  human  knowledge  and  in  improving  the  con- 
ditions of  life.  Little  by  little  the  moral  claims 
of  these  new  "natural"  doctrines  began  to  make 
themselves  felt.  The  church  has  nevertheless 
held  to  the  splendid  moral  imperative  of  sub- 
mission to  supernatural  guidance.  The  magnifi- 
cent ethical  tone  involved  in  this  demand  cannot 
be  doubted.  But  when  it  becomes  so  exclusive 
as  to  enter  into  warfare  with  the  moral  claims 
laid  upon  the  modern  conscience  by  scientific 
truthfulness,  it  induces  a  moral  confusion  which 


46  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

cannot  fail  to  be  disastrous.  For  a  time,  the  be- 
ginnings of  the  new  secularism  could  be  ignored 
by  theology.  But  in  our  day  the  extent  of 
these  secular  interests  has  become  so  enormous 
that  ecclesiastical  minds  are  becoming  panic- 
stricken,  and  are  adopting  extraordinary  meas- 
ures to  sweep  back  the  rising  tide  of  Modern- 
ism. It  will  help  us  to  appreciate  the  grav- 
ity of  the  situation  if  we  remind  ourselves 
of  some  of  the  familiar  occurrences  of  the  past 
few  centuries,  so  as  to  see  how  the  despairing 
attitude  toward  this  world,  which  gave  the  moral 
impetus  to  the  ideal  of  authority,  has  gradually 
disappeared  as  men  have  found  the  means  of 
making  this  world  contribute  directly  to  their 
highest  welfare.  We  must  therefore  next  turn 
our  attention  to  the  story  of  the  discrediting  of 
ecclesiastical  ethics. 


II 

THE    DISCREDITING    OF    ECCLESIASTICAL 

ETHICS 

IN  the  preceding  brief  sketch  of  the  rise  of  the 
ecclesiastical  control  of  moral  and  religious 
thinking,  we  attempted  to  show  how  natural  and 
wholesome  was  the  development  of  the  concep- 
tion of  a  world  so  organized  as  to  bring  all 
realms  of  human  activity  under  the  dominion  of 
God's  will  as  that  will  was  interpreted  by  the 
church.  During  the  centuries  when  men  felt 
the  futility  of  trusting  to  their  own  imperfect 
powers,  it  was  a  source  of  inestimable  inspira- 
tion to  be  able  to  draw  upon  the  resources  of 
divine  wisdom  and  power  as  these  had  been  re- 
vealed in  the  scriptures  and  interpreted  by  the 
church.  The  strength  of  the  mediaeval  program 
lay  in  the  fact  that  it  had  correlated  the  Chris- 
tian spirit  to  the  actual  problems  of  the  mediae- 

47 


48  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

val  world,  and  had  thus  produced  a  system  self- 
consistent  with  the  conscious  needs  of  men.  As 
we  now  proceed  to  trace  some  of  the  causes 
which  have  led  to  the  distrust  of  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal ideal  of  goodness,  we  ought  not  to  forget 
the  positive  service  which  it  rendered  in  those 
centuries  of  difficult  striving  for  the  light  when 
darkness  encompassed  social  and  political  activi- 
ties. 

The  discrediting  of  ecclesiastical  ethics  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  when  once  the  mediaeval  system 
of  control  had  become  perfected,  it  was  identi- 
fied with  the  unchanging  will  of  God  in  such  a 
way  that  the  significance  of  new  facts  in  the 
changing  evolution  of  human  history  could  not 
be  recognized.  Knowledge  of  a  doctrinal  sys- 
tem took  the  place  of  direct  observation  of  the 
facts.  Education  consisted  in  the  mastery  of 
this  system,  and  made  no  place  for  the  training 
of  leaders  in  the  inductive  study  of  historical 
processes.  Thus  when  the  conditions  which  had 
made  for  the  success  of  the  ecclesiastical  ideal 
changed,  the  habit  of  loyalty  to  the  system  pre- 


DISCREDITING   ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS       49 

vented  men  from  recognizing  that  new  occa- 
sions should  teach  new  duties.  As  the  changes 
became  more  pronounced,  what  was  once  directly 
contributory  to  the  moral  development  of  the 
western  world  became  artificial  and  in  some  in- 
stances actually  harmful.  But  of  this  changed 
moral  challenge  the  devotee  of  the  closed  sys- 
tem knows  nothing.  Under  the  domination  of 
the  belief  in  an  authoritatively  revealed  expres- 
sion of  the  divine  will,  the  Roman  Catholic 
church,  and  to  only  a  lesser  extent  the  Protes- 
tant bodies,  have  witnessed  tremendous  altera- 
tions as  the  mediaeval  world  has  been  trans- 
formed into  the  modern,  without  feeling  any 
eager  desire  to  be  active  in  producing  a  future 
essentially  different  from  the  ecclesiastical  order 
which  had  been  established  in  creeds  and  poli- 
cies. The  authorized  form  of  Roman  theology 
today  is  the  system  of  Thomas  Aquinas,  who 
died  in  1274.  Protestant  thought  is  for  the  most 
part  still  formulated  in  terms  of  the  Lutheran 
or  Calvinistic  systems,  which  were  shaped  be- 
fore modern  science  and  modern  enterprises  had 


5O  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

made  us  acquainted  with  a  world  so  immense 
that  the  traditional  creeds  are  being  stretched 
to  the  bursting  point  in  the  endeavor  to  make 
even  a  pretense  of  covering  it.  The  significance 
of  this  modern  crisis  in  the  realm  of  theological 
thought  will  best  be  seen  if  we  glance  briefly 
at  the  development  of  the  modern  world  so  as 
to  see  how  its  interests  found  no  adequate  guid- 
ance from  ecclesiastical  Christianity. 


I.      THE    DEVELOPMENT    OF    A    SECULAR    THEORY 

OF   INDUSTRY 

•» 

One  of  the  greatest  differences  between  the 
ancient  and  the  modern  world  lies  in  the  fact  of 
our  immensely  increased  ability  to  control  the 
forces  of  nature  and  to  make  them  minister  to 
our  comfort  and  well-being.  When  we  think  of 
the  easy  access  which  we  have  to  the  products 
of  all  lands,  when  we  realize  how  travel,  librar- 
ies and  laboratories  bring  to  us  that  enlargement 
of  outlook  and  aspiration  which  we  rightly 
value,  when  we  think  of  the  immense  enter- 


DISCREDITING   ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS       5! 

prises  of  humanitarian  purpose  which  are  being 
multiplied,  we  ought  not  to  forget  that  these 
things  are  possible  only  because  of  the  splendid 
story  of  industrial  development  which  consti- 
tutes the  source  of  pride  in  the  experience  of 
the  business  man,  and  which  is  accepted  as  the 
true  measure  of  greatness  by  most  popular 
expositors  of  our  modern  life.  The  ethical 
sense  of  today  feels  that  industry,  com- 
merce and  wealth  may  contribute  an  im- 
portant part  in  the  establishment  of  the  King- 
dom of  God. 

What,  then,  has  been  the  attitude  of  the 
church  toward  this  supremely  important  aspect 
of  our  modern  life?  Do  the  ethical  standards 
of  modern  business  embody  the  Christian  spirit? 
Or  have  they  been  formulated  in  defiance  of  the 
ideals  of  the  church? 

When  we  recall  the  eschatological  expecta- 
tions of  the  primitive  church,  it  is  evident  that 
there  was  little  place  for  a  positive  valuation  of 
industry  in  a  world  which  was  believed  to  be 
near  its  end.  We  may  see  from  the  epistles  to 


52  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

the  Thessalonians  how  the  emphasis  on  the 
speedy  coming  of  the  Lord  led  some  men  to 
neglect  their  ordinary  vocations.  In  any  case, 
since  the  Christian  could  not  carry  with  him 
into  the  Kingdom  of  God  the  riches  which  he 
might  have  amassed  here,  and  since  Jesus  had 
declared  that  earthly  possessions  constituted  a 
serious  obstacle  to  discipleship,  the  church  was 
naturally  opposed  to  enterprises  which  aroused 
the  cupidity  of  men.  Of  course  one  must  labor 
in  order  to  provide  food  for  himself  and  those 
dependent  on  him.  But  beyond  the  indisputable 
necessities  of  life,  any  acquirement  of  wealth 
was  to  be  condemned.  There  was  a  strong 
tendency  in  the  early  centuries  of  the  church  to 
regard  private  property  as  contrary  to  both 
natural  law  and  to  the  express  will  of  God.  To 
reserve  for  oneself  the  comforts  and  luxuries 
of  life  was  not  only  dangerous  to  one's  spiritual 
welfare;  it  was  also  taken  to  mean  a  deliberate 
defrauding  of  less  fortunate  men  of  their  right- 
ful share  in  the  blessings  of  God.  Said  St.  Am- 
brose: "Thou,  then,  who  hast  received  the  gift 


DISCREDITING    ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS        53 

of  God,  thinkest  thou  that  thou  committest  no 
injustice  by  keeping  to  thyself  alone  what  would 
be  the  means  of  life  to  many? — It  is  the  bread 
of  the  hungry  that  thou  keepest,  it  is  the  cloth- 
ing of  the  naked  that  thou  lockest  up;  the  money 
that  thou  buriest  is  the  redemption  of  the 
wretched."1 

The  interest  which  the  church  took  in  indus- 
trial life,  therefore,  was  dominated  by  the  desire 
to  prevent  Christians  from  succumbing  to  the 
lust  for  gain,  and  the  purpose  to  prevent  men 
from  defrauding  one  another  of  the  rightful 
goods  of  life.  There  was  almost  no  apprecia- 
tion of  the  positive  place  which  industry  as 
such  might  play  in  the  promotion  of  human  wel- 
fare. Business  was  looked  upon  as  a  dangerous 
employment  for  the  Christian,  because  it  was  so 
certain  to  beget  the  sin  of  avarice.  Indeed,  the 
most  rigid  teachers  of  the  church  were  quite 
willing  to  see  all  gainful  occupation  abolished. 
A  pungent  quotation  will  show  the  uncompro- 

1  Quoted  by  W.  J.  Ashley,   English   Economic  History, 
I,  p.  127. 


54  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

mising    point    of    view    which    was    sometimes 
urged : 

"Is  trade  adapted  for  a  servant  of  God?  But,  cov- 
etousness  apart,  what  is  the  motive  for  acquiring? 
When  the  motive  for  acquiring  ceases,  there  will  be  no 
necessity  for  trading.  .  .  Do  you  hesitate  about  arts 
and  trades,  and  about  professions  likewise  for  the 
sake  of  children  and  parents?  Even  there  (in  the 
gospels)  was  it  demonstrated  to  us  that  both  dear 
relations  and  handicrafts  and  trades  are  to  be  left 
behind  for  the  Lord's  sake;  while  James  and  John, 
called  by  the  Lord,  do  leave  quite  behind  both  father 
and  ship;  while  Matthew  is  roused  up  from  the  toll- 
booth  ;  while  even  burying  a  father  was  too  tardy  a 
business  for  faith.  None  of  those  whom  the  Lord 
chose  to  him  said,  'I  have  no  means  to  live/  Faith 
fears  no  famine."3 

Thus,  in  principle,  the  devotion  of  one's  time 
to  gainful  industry  was  discouraged  by  the 
church.  If  one  wished  to  be  a  consistent  fol- 
lower of  Christ,  he  was  expected  to  forswear 
wealth.  The  reforming  movements  in  Catholi- 
cism have  usually  looked  upon  the  vow  of  pov- 
erty as  essential  to  any  thorough-going  espousal 
of  Christian  principles. 

In  the  case  of  those  who  were  not  ready  to 
'Tertullian,  De  Idol.,  n  and  12. 


DISCREDITING    ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS        55 

take  the  vow  of  poverty,  the  church  attempted 
to  exercise  control  over  the  way  in  which  trade 
was  carried  on.  The  principle  of  the  golden 
rule  was  embodied  in  the  prohibition  against 
lending  money  for  interest  and  in  the  economic 
doctrine  of  a  "fair  price"  as  the  ideal  to  guide 
any  one  in  a  business  transaction  with  others. 
There  was  here,  as  in  the  case  of  the  more  rigid 
judgment  as  to  the  superior  virtue  of  poverty, 
no  thought  of  estimating  the  social  value  of 
trade.  The  individuals  engaged  in  business  were 
to  be  saved  from  the  danger  of  losing  their  souls 
through  indulgence  in  the  sin  of  covetousness. 
Thus  the  doctrine  of  a  "fair  price"  was  inter- 
preted in  an  individualistic  fashion  which  seems 
strange  to  us.  Regard  must  always  be  had  to  the 
rank  of  the  person  engaged  in  the  transaction.  It 
was  believed  that  every  man  was  ordained  by 
God  to  a  certain  rank  or  class  in  society.  Kings 
and  princes,  of  course,  were  expected  to  live  in 
greater  grandeur  than  common  people.  A  no- 
bleman would  naturally  need  a  larger  income 
than  one  of  common  blood.  The  exhortations 


56  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

of  the  church  were  based  on  this  assumption  of 
divinely  appointed  differences  of  rank.  One 
must  so  regulate  his  business  as  to  receive  from 
it  only  so  much  as  was  required  to  provide  the 
necessities  of  his  rank.  Anything  more  than 
this  would  be  due  to  avarice.3 

During  the  early  middle  ages,  this  personal 
and  religious  view  of  industrial  relationships 
worked  on  the  whole  for  the  welfare  of  society. 
During  the  disintegration  of  political  life  due 
to  the  supplanting  of  the  older  order  by  the 
feudal  system,  the^e  ideals  tended  to  prevent 
those  who  had  the  power  to  do  so  from  exploit- 
ing the  poor  without  scruple.  When  there  were 
few  opportunities  for  the  investment  of  money 
in  safe  ways,  the  temptation  to  hoard  it  or  to 
use  it  for  selfish  gratification  was  great.  To 
lend  to  a  friend  or  neighbor  in  need  without 
demanding  interest  on  the  capital  was  an  act  of 

8  Thomas  Aquinas,  for  example,  defines  the  sin  of  avarice 
as  follows :  Avaritia  peccatum  est,  quo  quis  supra  debitum 
modum  cupit  acquirere  vel  retinere  divitias.  He  argues 
that  a  man  may  rightly  seek  external  goods  "prout  sunt 
necessariae  ad  vitam  ejus  secundum  suam  conditionem. 
Summa  Theol.,  II,  2:  Quaest  cxviii,  Art.  I. 


DISCREDITING    ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS        57 

Christian  love  and  involved  no  serious  loss  to 
the  lender.  To  insist  on  a  "fair  price"  was 
practicable  so  long  as  goods  were  produced  in 
the  locality  where  they  were  exchanged,  so  that 
it  was  easy  to  know  approximately  the  cost  of 
the  materials  and  the  time  necessary  to  produce 
them. 

But  the  time  came  when  the  mediaeval  world 
had  so  far  mastered  the  processes  of  agriculture 
that  localities  began  to  produce  a  surplus  which 
might  be  exchanged  for  goods  produced  else- 
where. Little  by  little  men  became  aware  of 
the  enrichment  of  life  which  might  come  from 
this  new  trade.  Thus  arose  the  stimulus  to  spe- 
cialization in  manufacture,  so  as  to  have  more 
goods  to  exchange  for  something  else.  Now 
money  could  be  profitably  invested  in  enter- 
prises which  were  of  social  value.  The  ecclesi- 
astical estimate  of  capital  was  inadequate  under 
the  new  conditions.  Lending  for  interest  be- 
came more  and  more  common  in  spite  of  the 
efforts  of  the  church  to  prevent  it.  Indeed,  in 
the  attempt  to  save  the  form  of  the  prohibition 


58  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

the  church  was  led  to  countenance  certain  palpa- 
ble evasions  of  the  letter  of  the  law  which  de- 
stroyed its  moral  influence.  Thus  men  were  led 
gradually  to  assume  an  attitude  toward  industry 
and  trade  which  took  its  start  from  the  actual 
social  needs  of  the  day  rather  than  from  the 
traditional  doctrines  of  the  church.  The  entire 
structure  of  our  modern  industry  is  built  on  the 
fundamental  assumption  that  it  is  right  and 
wholesome  for  those  who  have  capital  to  lend 
it  to  corporations  for  the  purpose  of  developing 
business  enterprises.  Today  no  Christian  so 
much  as  asks  concerning  the  legitimacy  of  in- 
terest-bearing investments,  or  is  usually  aware 
that  the  church  ever  objected  to  them. 

The  fact  that  the  church  was  not  able  to  give 
any  positive  valuation  to  the  growing  industrial 
interests  of  the  modern  world  made  it  inevitable 
that  those  interests  should  look  elsewhere  for 
the  principles  which  should  guide  them.  At  first 
the  guilds,  and  later  the  national  governments, 
undertook  the  task  of  organizing  trade  and  in- 
dustry. That  characteristically  industrial  insti- 


DISCREDITING   ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS        59 

tution,  the  modern  city,  owes  its  existence  to 
the  exigencies  of  industry  and  trade.  It  is  evi- 
dent to  us  all  today  that  these  immense  centers 
of  human  life  have  grown  practically  without 
reference  to  the  ideals  which  Christianity  repre- 
sents. The  modern  city  is  built  purely  and  sim- 
ply to  foster  business  enterprise,  and,  as  we 
are  becoming  painfully  aware,  is  responsible 
for  some  of  the  most  formidable  problems 
which  confront  the  church  of  the  immediate 
future. 

We  cannot  here  enter  into  the  history  of  the 
development  of  industry  and  trade  on  a  purely 
secular  basis.  We  may  only  point  to  the 
classical  expression  of  this  new  secularism 
in  Adam  Smith's  economic  theories,  which  de- 
veloped into  what  is  known  as  the  laissez-faire 
philosophy.  The  principles  of  business  today 
are  largely  shaped  by  this  famous  doctrine  of 
non-restraint.  Adam  Smith  held  that  the  best 
results  will  be  attained  by  allowing  the  most  free 
competition,  unhampered  by  either  ecclesiastical 
or  political  control.  Out  of  this  unrestrained 


60  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

striving   of   men   with   one   another   will   come 
economic  justice  and  general  welfare.4 

The  immediate  results  of  the  adoption  of  this 
purely  secular  doctrine  of  industry  have  been 
such  as  to  give  us  reason  to  pause  and  reflect. 
The  sorry  story  of  the  exploitation  of  child 
labor  and  of  the  resulting  depleted  wages,  not 
to  speak  of  the  moral  disintegration  due  to  the 
elimination  of  men  from  their  customary  places 
as  wage-earners  for  the  family,  is  already  well 
known  and  almost  universally  condemned.  In- 
deed, it  may  be  said  that  the  world  has  already 
rejected  this  individualistic  theory  of  labor  and 
is  seeking  for  some  restraints  which  shall 
make  for  greater  justice.  But  the  significant 
thing  about  the  industrial  ferment  of  our  day 
is  its  entire  ignoring  of  established  Christianity 

4  "All  systems — either  of  preference  or  restraint — being 
taken  away,  the  obvious  and  simple  system  of  natural  lib- 
erty establishes  itself  of  its  own  accord.  Every  man,  as 
long  as  he  does  not  violate  the  laws  of  justice,  is  left  per- 
fectly free  to  pursue  his  own  interest  in  his  own  way,  and 
to  bring  both  his  industry  and  his  capital  into  competition 
with  those  of  any  other  man.  "The  Wealth  of  Nations," 
Book  IV,  Chapter  9. 


DISCREDITING   ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS       6 1 

as  a  factor  in  the  reconstruction.  It  is  felt 
that  the  ecclesiastical  consciousness  is  too  re- 
mote from  the  actual  wrongs  which  men  are 
suffering  to  render  valuable  aid  in  the  crisis. 
Out  of  the  turmoil  of  the  industrial  conflict  is 
arising  an  immanent  democratic  social  move- 
ment, which  is  creating  new  valuations,  and  is 
seeking  to  inaugurate  new  economic  policies. 
Indeed,  in  the  extraordinary  awakening  of  the 
social  conscience  which  is  today  in  progress, 
the  church  has  been  quite  generally  taken  by 
surprise.  The  religious  possibilities  latent  in 
modern  social  movements  are  seldom  appre- 
ciated by  men  educated  in  the  traditional  way. 
Clinging  as  they  have  been  to  the  mediaeval  con- 
ception of  ethics,  they  have  not  imagined  the 
possibility  of  a  revival  of  religion  which  did 
not  come  in  the  conventional  ecclesiastical  fash- 
ion. Yet  the  essentially  moral  character  of 
many  movements  of  industrial  reform  is  easily 
evident,  and  there  are  not  wanting  signs  of  a 
dawning  consciousness  that  in  the  spirit  of  Jesus 
is  a  dynamic  which  is  indispensable  to  the  full 


62  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

success  of  the  movements  for  social  reconstruc- 
tion. 

Indeed,  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  show 
certain  parallels  between  the  modern  situation 
and  the  ideal  of  mediaeval  control.  Is  not  the 
demand  for  a  "living  wage"  today  similar  in 
ethical  import  to  the  mediaeval  doctrine  of  a 
"fair  price"?  Are  not  movements  to  protect 
the  poor  from  loan  sharks  dominated  by  the 
same  Christian  spirit  which  forbade  the  loan- 
ing of  money  for  interest?  There  is  a  distinct 
recognition  of  the  moral  bankruptcy  of  the 
purely  secular  conception  of  business  enterprise. 
But  the  regeneration  of  industry  cannot  come 
by  the  application  of  formal  ecclesiastical 
standards.  If  Christianity  can  suggest  no  other 
remedy,  the  world  will  turn,  for  weal  or  for 
woe,  to  secularism. 

2.      THE  SECULARIZATION  OF  POLITICS 

The  second  realm  where  we  may  trace  the 
progressive  elimination  of  ecclesiastical  control 
is  in  the  field  of  politics.  The  Catholic  Church, 


DISCREDITING   ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS       63 

to  this  day,  holds  to  the  right  of  the  ecclesiastical 
power  to  control  the  state,  so  as  to  compel  the 
retention  of  Christian  principles.  Indeed,  Prot- 
estantism, in  its  revolt  from  the  ecclesiastical 
power  of  Rome,  did  not  conceive  the  possibility 
of  a  purely  secular  state.  In  the  endeavors  to 
establish  the  rights  of  national  princes  over 
against  the  pope,  it  was  always  taken  for  granted 
that  the  state  should  be  "Christian"  in  character. 
We  need  only  recall  the  committal  of  the  religion 
of  a  German  state  to  the  decision  of  the  ruler 
to  see  how  completely  religion  and  politics  were 
believed  to  be  interrelated.  Calvin  attempted  on 
a  small  scale  in  Geneva  exactly  what  Hilde- 
brand  had  attempted  on  a  world-wide  scale. 
Even  in  the  beginnings  of  our  own  country's 
history  the  Puritans  sought  to  establish  an  ex- 
clusive theocracy,  in  which  political  rights  should 
be  restricted  to  those  who  were  true  orthodox 
Christians,  embodying  the  precepts  of  the  Bible 
in  all  their  thinking  and  action.  The  Oxford 
Movement  in  England  in  the  middle  of  the  last 
century  was  provoked  partly  by  the  conviction  of 


64  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

earnest  Christians  that  a  secular  basis  of  suffrage 
by  which  Catholics,  Dissenters,  Jews  and  even 
atheists  might  be  admitted  to  a  share  in  the  con- 
duct of  government  meant  the  end  of  righteous- 
ness. To  this  day  the  majority  of  men  in  the 
western  world  continue  to  think  in  terms  of  a 
state  church. 

But  as  political  interests  developed,  it  became 
more  and  more  evident  that  ecclesiastical  con- 
trol was  incompatible  with  the  welfare  of  mod- 
ern nations.  This  was  strikingly  illustrated  in 
the  attempts  which  Grotius  made  early  in  the 
seventeenth  century  to  eliminate  the  horrors  of 
war.  The  immediate  result  of  the  Protestant 
movement  had  been  to  arouse  hostilities  which 
appealed  to  religious  motives,  and  which  be- 
cause of  this  religious  appeal  assumed  especially 
terrible  form.  We  need  only  recall  the  terrors 
of  the  Thirty  Years'  War  in  Germany,  or  the 
military  measures  of  Spain  in  the  Netherlands 
to  realize  that  differences  of  religious  faith  pro- 
voked conflicts  of  the  most  dreadful  sort,  where 
factions  of  the  same  race  might  be  pitted  against 


DISCREDITING   ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS        65 

each  other  in  a  contest  in  which  conscience  lent 
peculiar  tenacity  to  the  efforts  of  the  contest- 
ants. Grotius,  that  great  apostle  of  humani- 
tarian philosophy,  saw  that  international  peace 
could  not  be  promoted  by  appeal  to  the  ecclesi- 
astical conscience,  for  here  lay  the  main  reason 
for  warfare.  He  therefore  laid  the  foundations 
of  modern  international  polity  by  an  appeal  to 
the  dictates  of  "natural  law."  It  is  true  that 
Grotius  referred  the  principles  of  this  natural 
law  to  God,  who  was  believed  to  have  implanted 
certain  ethical  principles  in  human  nature;  but 
the  significant  thing  was  that  this  God-given 
knowledge  was  accessible  to  all  men  without 
the  mediation  of  the  church.  Indeed,  so  certain 
was  Grotius  of  this  secular  appeal,  that  he  de- 
clared that  natural  law  would  constitute  a  valid 
basis  for  ethics  even  if  God  did  not  exist  at  all. 
As  a  result  of  such  an  appeal,  there  arises 
a  conception  of  the  state  very  different  from 
that  held  by  the  ecclesiastical  conscience.  In- 
stead of  deriving  its  authority  from  God 
through  the  church,  it  rests  upon  the  sanction 


66  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

of  the  natural  desires  of  the  citizens.  The  the- 
ory of  a  "social  contract"  arises.  It  is  held 
that  the  proper  way  in  which  to  constitute  a 
government  is  for  men  mutually  to  agree  con- 
cerning the  modes  of  corporate  activity  which 
will  best  promote  the  rights  of  all  to  the  pur- 
suit of  life,  liberty  and  happiness.  If  any  ex- 
isting government  is  found  to  be  disregarding 
these  fundamental  rights  of  men,  it  can  be  justly 
criticised.  Even  ecclesiastical  traditions  must 
give  way  before  this  fundamental  recognition 
of  the  natural  rights  of  men. 

It  is,  of  course,  evident  that  this  secular 
philosophy  of  government  has  not  yet  com- 
pletely won  the  field.  The  transition  from 
mediaevalism  to  modernism  was  made  through 
the  doctrines  of  the  Independents,  who  at- 
tempted to  substitute  for  an  ecclesiastical  state 
a  genuine  democracy  in  which  the  Bible  should 
rule  the  thoughts  and  actions  of  citizens,  and 
thus  indirectly  constitute  a  divine  basis  for  gov- 
ernment. But  the  moment  democracy  is  in  fact 
introduced,  it  becomes  necessary  to  grant  free- 


DISCREDITING   ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS        67 

dom  of  interpretation  of  scripture;  and  this  is 
likely  to  lead  to  controversies  of  such  warmth 
that  religion  again  seems  to  fail  to  produce  po- 
litical peace.  It  has  thus  proved  actually  more 
practicable  to  found  modern  democracies  on  a 
purely  secular  basis,  so  that  there  can  be  no  pre- 
tence of  compulsion  on  the  authority  of  a  non- 
human  power.  This  ideal  has  been  expressed 
in  the  constitution  of  our  own  country,  which 
distinctly  excludes  the  exercise  of  formal  ecclesi- 
astical control  over  politics.  Other  nations  of  the 
modern  world  are  following  in  our  footsteps, 
and  the  time  seems  not  far  distant  when  the 
countries  of  Europe  will  either  renounce  formal 
connection  between  church  and  state,  or  will  so 
distinctly  guarantee  to  different  religious  bodies 
their  full  rights  that  the  state  becomes  in  fact, 
if  not  in  name,  neutral  toward  any  particular 
ecclesiastical  polity,  and  thus  is  practically  secu- 
larized. 

The  functions  of  the  modern  state,  therefore, 
are  really  denned  in  terms  of  the  social  and 
economic  welfare  of  the  citizens,  and  not  in  the 


68  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

interests  of  any  ecclesiastical  ideal.  This  is 
true  of  Catholic  countries  as  well  as  of  Protes- 
tant, however  the  Catholic  church  may  attempt 
to  conceal  the  fact.  Modern  Italy  is  a  conspicu- 
ous example  of  the  triumph  of  the  secular  the- 
ory of  government  under  the  very  shadow  of 
the  Vatican  with  its  futile  claim  of  temporal 
authority.  Every  modern  state  has  found  itself 
compelled  to  cease  to  be  the  organ  of  any 
ecclesiastical  polity.  It  must  grant  equal  tolera- 
tion to  all  forms  of  religious  belief  and  practice. 
This  is  equivalent  to  a  confession  that,  so  far 
as  the  policy  of  the  state  is  concerned,  Chris- 
tianity is  no  longer  the  sole  rightful  religion. 
But  if  this  position  be  once  granted,  the  mediae- 
val basis  of  politics  is  overthrown,  no  matter 
how  constantly  members  of  the  church  may  talk 
about  "Christian"  nations.  Our  own  national 
constitution,  which  does  not  mention  the  name 
of  God,  but  which  derives  its  sanctions  from 
the  fact  that  "we,  the  people/'  have  decided  to 
adopt  this  and  no  other  form  of  government,  is 
typical  of  the  modern  situation. 


DISCREDITING   ECCLESIASTICAL  ETHICS       69 

Out  of  this  new  sense  of  secular  freedom 
arises  a  typical  form  of  political  ethics.  So 
long  as  the  state  was  conceived  as  deriving  its 
authority  from  a  higher  source,  the  govern- 
ment was  naturally  left  in  the  hands  of  an  aris- 
tocracy, who  were  presumably  fitted  both  by  na- 
ture and  by  education  for  the  task  of  wisely 
administering  the  affairs  of  the  state.  As  is  well 
known,  in  the  inception  of  our  own  national  ex- 
istence, there  was  a  widespread  distrust  of  a 
thorough-going  democracy.  Our  constitution 
was  devised  to  keep  the  election  of  national  sen- 
ators and  of  the  President  out  of  the  hands  of 
the  people  generally,  committing  the  selection  of 
these  officials  to  a  more  aristocratic  body.  Thus 
the  ethics  of  politics,  like  the  ethics  of  the 
mediaeval  church,  was  essentially  aristocratic. 

But  democracy  has  progressively  claimed  an 
increasing  share  in  our  government,  until  today 
it  is  almost  an  axiom  that  final  authority  rests 
in  the  voice  of  the  people  themselves.  Moreover, 
the  direction  of  democratic  progress  is  easily 
discerned  in  the  growing  demand  for  certain 


7O  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

fundamental  reconstructions  of  society  which 
will  involve  the  modification  or  even  the  aboli- 
tion of  some  of  the  time-honored  "rights"  of 
property  and  of  position.  The  political  ques- 
tions which  must  be  faced  in  the  near  future 
grow  out  of  our  modern  social  and  industrial 
development  in  so  direct  a  fashion  that  there 
arises  a  sense  of  impatience  and  even  a  spirit  of 
revolution  whenever  the  older  methods  of  aris- 
tocratic control  are  attempted.  Men  are  insist- 
ing that  they  know  what  they  want  and  what 
they  ought  to  do  because  of  the  fact  that  they 
are  living  in  the  midst  of  the  problem,  and  are 
able  to  discern  certain  immanent  principles  of 
justice.  So  alien  to  this  modern  moral  belief 
is  the  conception  of  church  control  that  modern 
movements  are  steadily  but  surely  pushing  the 
church  as  an  institution  out  of  the  circle  of  po- 
litical forces.  Changes  in  the  observance  of  the 
Sabbath,  in  the  privileges  of  the  clergy,  in  the 
legal  status  of  the  church,  and  in  the  place  of 
religious  education  in  public  instruction,  are 
common  enough  to  show  the  strength  of  the  new 


DISCREDITING    ECCLESIASTICAL    ETHICS        7! 

secularism.     Its  ethical  power  should  be  better 
understood  than  is  usually  the  case. 


3.      THE  CHANGED  POSITION  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN 

A  SECULAR  STATE 

In  connection  with  the  secularization  of  poli- 
tics, it  is  important  to  notice  certain  inevitable 
consequences  in  our  attitude  toward  the  church 
itself.  The  mediaeval  church  was  regarded  as 
a  supernatural  institution,  existing  by  virtue  of 
its  divine  establishment.  Individuals  were  ut- 
terly dependent  upon  the  church  for  the  sacra- 
mental grace  which  took  them  out  of  the  secular 
world  and  constituted  them  members  of  the 
heavenly  group  which  was  to  enjoy  and  to  ex- 
hibit the  favor  of  God. 

But  when  the  church  becomes  disestablished, 
it  is  in  the  eyes  of  the  law  an  association  of 
men  who  have  voluntarily  agreed  to  unite  in 
order  to  promote  the  objects  of  religion. 
Legally,  therefore,  the  church  has  a  human 
origin.  It  can  formulate  its  own  articles  of  in- 


72  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

corporation,  like  any  other  legal  society.  It  can 
determine  its  own  ritual,  creed  and  practices. 
So  far  as  the  civil  authorities  are  concerned, 
there  is  no  one  exclusively  right  form  of  church 
polity,  no  one  divinely  authorized  form  of  be- 
lief, no  one  definite  list  of  sacraments.  Exactly 
what  shall  be  the  nature  of  a  given  ecclesiastical 
organization  rests  with  the  constituent  members. 
Now  this  legal  theory  concerning  the  nature 
of  the  church  inevitably  reacts  upon  the  concep- 
tion of  the  church  as  a  religious  institution.  If 
the  members  of  the  church  formally  declare  its 
purpose,  its  creed,  its  practices,  do  they  not  as  a 
matter  of  fact  determine  its  theology  and  its 
ethics?  They  may  indeed  declare  that  the  the- 
ology and  the  ethics  must  be  drawn  from  an  al- 
leged divine  source ;  but  the  fact  that  it  is  legally 
optional  whether  they  assign  this  origin  to  their 
theology  inevitably  evokes  a  consciousness  of 
human  participation  in  the  formulation  of  the 
standards  by  which  church  members  are  to  be 
guided.  Thus  there  is  induced  a  changed  type 
of  religious  consciousness.  It  becomes  possible 


DISCREDITING   ECCLESIASTICAL  ETHICS       73 

for  men  to  deliberate  and  to  decide  for  them- 
selves matters  which  in  the  mediaeval  church 
were  decided  by  divine  authority.  But  the  mo- 
ment such  deliberation  is  allowed,  it  involves  a 
complete  transformation  of  the  ethical  standards 
by  which  religious  problems  are  decided.  Mere 
authority  can  no  longer  rule  supreme.  The 
rights  of  conscience  are  recognized,  even  to  the 
extent  of  defying  ecclesiastical  authority. 

Look,  for  example,  at  the  modern  estimate 
of  the  significance  of  excommunication.  In  for- 
mer centuries  the  most  terrible  fate  which 
could  befall  the  individual  was  exclusion  from 
the  church.  Today,  since  the  church  consists 
of  a  voluntarily  associated  body  of  believers, 
any  one  has  the  privilege  of  withdrawing  from 
its  membership  without  thereby  discrediting  him- 
self in  the  eyes  of  his  fellow  men.  This  really 
means  that,  in  so  far  as  one's  life  as  a  citizen  is 
concerned,  one's  morality  can  be  complete  with- 
out reference  to  specifically  ecclesiastical  de- 
mands. From  this  point  of  view,  the  older  dis- 
tinction between  the  unregenerate  and  the  regen- 


74  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

erate  either  vanishes  or  is  practically  disregarded. 
The  church  is  valued  by  its  members  as  an  insti- 
tution for  promoting  certain  traits  of  character 
and  belief;  but  it  is  no  longer  believed  that  all 
the  virtues  are  within  the  church  and  that  the 
seeming  good  deeds  of  those  without  its  pale 
are  only  "splendid  vices." 

One  of  the  most  significant  aspects  of  the 
modern  conscience  is  to  be  found  in  the  popular 
attitude  today  toward  attempts  on  the  part  of 
the  churches  to  discipline  members  of  the  clergy 
for  heresy.  From  the  mediaeval  point  of  view 
this  was  a  most  natural  and  praiseworthy  func- 
tion. But  in  our  day,  so  convinced  have  we  be- 
come of  the  moral  privilege  of  men  to  formulate 
their  own  beliefs  that  it  seems  like  an  attempt  to 
infringe  personal  rights  when  a  church  under- 
takes to  dictate  to  an  honest-minded  man  what 
conclusions  he  shall  reach  in  his  theological 
thinking.  If,  however,  the  church  shall  re- 
nounce its  claims  to  be  the  proper  arbiter  of  the 
religious  thoughts  of  men,  just  what  is  left  of 
the  authority  ideal?  The  extent  to  which  this 


DISCREDITING    ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS        75 

actual  abdication  of  ecclesiastical  control  has 
gone  is  scarcely  realized  among  us.  The  moral 
pronunciamentos  of  the  modern  church  are 
really  simply  the  expression  of  the  social  sense 
of  the  collective  membership,  formulated  in 
ecclesiastical  gatherings.  Less  and  less  is  there 
any  thorough-going  attempt  to  regard  them  as 
disciplinary  laws.  Dissent  by  individuals  from 
such  general  resolutions  as  are  passed  is  not  un- 
common, and,  when  expressed,  carries  with  it 
little  or  no  moral  obloquy.  So  completely  is  the 
right  of  private  judgment  recognized  in  modern 
Protestant  bodies.  Thus  there  has  come  to  pre- 
vail in  our  actual  practice  an  ideal  which  is  ut- 
terly incompatible  with  that  sort  of  ecclesiastical 
control  which  found  expression  in  the  traditional 
theology.  The  ethics  of  belief  today  involves 
an  appeal  to  standards  strikingly  different  from 
those  which  were  embodied  in  the  systems  of 
theology  which  prevailed  in  the  days  of  ecclesi- 
astical supremacy. 


76  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

4.      THE  SECULARIZATION  OF   MODERN  SCHOLAR- 
SHIP 

During  the  middle  ages  the  preservation  and 
promotion  of  scholarship  were  entirely  in  the 
hands  of  the  church.  Only  the  clergy  had  either 
the  leisure  or  the  ability  to  master  the  traditions 
of  antiquity.  As  we  have  already  seen,  the  so- 
cial needs  of  the  mediaeval  period  demanded  the 
mastery  of  the  principles  of  learning  which  had 
been  formulated  in  the  classic  age.  The 
technique  for  the  discovery  of  new  truth  had 
not  been  developed.  Consequently  scholars  nat- 
urally became  advocates  of  a  predetermined  sys- 
tem, which  was  to  be  imparted  to  the  coming 
generation  in  order  to  keep  alive  the  light  of 
learning.  Since  the  only  material  for  education 
was  derived  from  the  theology  of  the  church 
fathers  and  from  the  fragments  of  the  classics 
which  had  escaped  destruction,  the  task  of  schol- 
arship consisted  in  mastering  these  treasures  of 
wisdom  so  as  to  transmit  to  coming  generations 
the  culture  contained  in  them.  Moreover,  even 


DISCREDITING   ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS        77 

the  pagan  culture  which  remained  had  been  so 
worked  over  by  theological  scholars  that  it  fitted 
into  the  ecclesiastical  system  in  such  a  way  that 
reason  and  revelation  seemed  admirably  to  cor- 
roborate each  other.5 

The  fundamentally  theological  interest  re- 
flected in  the  ideals  of  the  time  led  to  the  valua- 
tion of  scholarship  solely  because  of  the  aid 
which  it  could  give  to  men  in  their  primary  task 
of  preparing  for  heaven.  Said  St.  Ambrose: 
'To  discuss  the  nature  and  position  of  the  earth 
does  not  help  us  in  our  hope  of  the  life  to  come. 
It  is  enough  to  know  that  scripture  states  that 
'He  hung  up  the  earth  upon  nothing'  (Job 
26:7).  Why  then  argue  whether  He  hung  it  up 
in  air  or  upon  the  water,  and  raise  a  contro- 
versy as  to  how  the  thin  air  could  sustain  the 
earth ;  or  why,  if  upon  the  waters,  the  earth  does 
not  go  crashing  down  to  the  bottom?"6  Now 
if  the  inquiries  of  those  of  curious  mind  led  not 


B  For  an  admirable  account  of  this  attitude  of  mind,  see 
Taylor:  The  Mediaeval  Mind,  New  York,  Macmillan,  1911. 
"Hexsemeron,  I,  Chapter  6. 


78  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

simply  to  useless  themes,  so  far  as  the  salvation 
of  one's  soul  was  concerned,  but  went  so  far  as 
to  inspire  doubt  or  hesitation  concerning  some 
of  the  revealed  doctrines  on  which  our  salvation 
depends,  such  secular  inquiry  was,  of  course,  re- 
garded as  sin.  The  story  of  the  agonies  endured 
by  honest  souls  who  were  thus  led  into  doubt 
would  fill  volumes.  It  is  still  a  very  real  spir- 
itual tragedy  in  the  case  of  hundreds  of  men 
today. 

The  consequence  of  this  attitude  on  the  part 
of  the  church  was  to  give  a  supreme  moral  value 
to  conformity.  We  have  already  had  occasion 
to  notice  the  way  in  which  the  exigencies  of 
ecclesiastical  discipline  led  to  the  doctrine  that 
heresy  or  schism  was  a  deadly  sin,  because  the 
author  of  wrong  teaching  was  defeating  the 
eternal  salvation  of  precious  souls.  The  moral 
hatred  of  distinctly  theological  errors  was  easily 
transferred  to  all  intellectual  movements  which 
did  not  profess  to  serve  the  interests  which  the 
church  held  dear.  It  is  difficult  for  us  in  this 
age  of  toleration  to  realize  the  intensity  of  this 


DISCREDITING    ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS        7Q 

moral  indignation  unless  we  turn  to  the  pages 
of  some  patristic  or  mediaeval  treatise,  and  ob- 
serve the  awful  anathemas  and  the  blood- 
curdling epithets  applied  to  the  erring  one. 

The  control  of  the  church  over  intellectual 
ideas  was  more  complete  than  it  was  over  indus- 
try or  politics,  because  all  learning  was  neces- 
sarily in  the  hands  of  the  church;  manuscripts 
were  usually  copied  by  monks  and  put  into  cir- 
culation through  the  priests ;  churchmen  were 
for  a  long  time  the  only  persons  who  were  sup- 
posed to  concern  themselves  with  learning.  The 
result  was  that  by  the  end  of  the  middle  ages 
scholarship  was  completely  under  the  domina- 
tion of  the  ecclesiastical  standards  of  right 
thinking,  and  was  so  organized  as  to  exclude 
any  ideas  prejudicial  to  the  church. 

Consequently,  when  the  stirrings  of  modern 
scientific  endeavor  began  to  make  themselves 
felt,  there  was  no  scholarly  preparation  for  the 
appreciation  of  the  real  moral  significance  of 
this  new  and  fruitful  method  of  ascertaining  the 
truth.  The  story  of  the  conflict  which  science 


8O  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

has  had  to  wage  with  the  ecclesiastical  tempera- 
ment is  well  known,  and  need  not  be  rehearsed 
here.7  We  now  recall  with  a  sense  of  shame 
the  fact  that  the  church  did  its  best  to  suppress 
the  new  astronomy  and  the  new  cosmology  made 
possible  by  the  discoveries  of  Copernicus  and 
his  successors;  and  that  it  is  in  many  places  still 
waging  a  bitter  warfare  against  the  doctrine  of 
evolution,  which  has  proved  to  be  so  fruitful  a 
means  of  investigation  in  our  modern  world. 
Especially  intense  has  been  the  opposition  to  the 
application  of  scientific  methods  in  the  study  of 
church  history  or  to  the  Bible.  There  are  still 
living  in  our  country  men  who  were  deposed 
from  their  chairs  as  teachers  because  they  felt 
it  to  be  their  duty  to  teach  what  they  had 
learned  from  a  more  thorough  study  of  the 
facts  rather  than  to  conform  to  the  traditional 
doctrines. 

The  development  of  modern  science,  then,  has 


TIt  was  set  forth  in  striking  form  by  Andrew  Dickson 
White  in  his  "History  of  the  Warfare  Between  Science 
and  Theology."  (New  York,  1897.) 


DISCREDITING    ECCLESIASTICAL    ETHICS        8 1 

been  accompanied  by  a  prolonged  and  bitter  con- 
test against  the  ecclesiastical  conception  of  the 
ethics  of  scholarship.  When  dissent  from  the 
opinions  approved  by  the  church  is  defined  as 
sin,  there  is  sure  to  be  serious  confusion  in  the 
realm  of  religious  education. 

But  in  our  day,  the  victory  has  been  prac- 
tically won  for  the  newer  type  of  scholarship. 
We  are  coming  to  adopt  the  scientific  rather 
than  the  ecclesiastical  ideal  for  the  guidance  of 
life.  Modern  colleges  and  universities  frankly 
advocate  the  spirit  of  unbiased  and  free  investi- 
gation. Indeed,  we  are  even  beginning  to  talk 
about  scientific  investigation  as  the  necessary 
preliminary  to  any  real  church  efficiency.  But 
there  is  one  unfortunate  result  of  the  struggle 
of  the  past  four  or  five  centuries  which  is  a 
source  of  regret  to  all  lovers  of  truth.  That  is 
the  inheritance  by  scientific  literature  of  a  hos- 
tility to  theology,  engendered  by  the  opposition 
of  the  church  to  investigations  which  are  now 
recognized  to  be  of  positive  value  to  humanity. 
It  is,  perhaps,  a  matter  of  surprise  that  this 


82  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

hostility  to  the  church  is  not  more  pronounced 
than  it  actually  is.  When  we  recall  the  way  in 
which  honest-minded  men  have  been  made  to 
suffer  for  their  honesty,  when  we  remember  that 
many  of  the  blessings  which  we  now  enjoy  were 
gained  only  after  the  determined  opposition  of 
the  church  was  overcome,  it  is  easily  compre- 
hensible that  the  victors  in  the  battle  should 
speak  of  their  defeated  opponents  in  terms  of 
hatred  and  contempt.  The  restraint  of  most 
scientific  literature  in  this  respect  is  morally 
commendable.  None  the  less,  in  the  modern 
college  and  university  there  is  often  present  an 
undertone  of  patronizing  contempt  for  the  ideas 
of  the  church,  which  easily  runs  into  a  similar 
attitude  toward  the  religion  which  the  church 
propagates.  Frequently  a  teacher  or  writer  in- 
dulges frankly  in  adverse  criticism  of  the  ideas 
which  in  the  case  of  most  men  are  indissolubly 
connected  with  Christian  faith.  Even  where 
there  is  no  expressed  disapproval  of  the  church's 
attitude,  the  mere  history  of  a  science  may  serve 
to  bring  out  the  fact  that  in  certain  realms  the 


DISCREDITING   ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS       83 

doctrine  of  the  church  has  been  hopelessly  dis- 
credited. 

Thus  there  is  rapidly  coming  into  dominance 
among  us  a  type  of  mind  which  sees  more  moral 
heroism  in  opposition  to  the  church  than  in  con- 
forming to  its  ideas;  which  looks  for  the  truth 
in  ways  which  the  church  has  formally  disap- 
proved; and  which  is  keenly  conscious  that  the 
ecclesiastical  ideal  has  been  discredited  by  those 
who  are  the  real  leaders  of  the  world's  thought. 
It  cannot  be  said  that  the  canons  of  morality 
have  been  carefully  worked  out  from  the  new 
point  of  view.  But  there  exists  a  genuine  en- 
thusiasm for  freedom  of  thought;  and  this  en- 
thusiasm is  not  always  too  critical  of  the  scien- 
tific correctness  of  the  position  of  the  man  who 
attacks  the  church.  Let  any  one  propound  a 
theory  today  in  such  a  form  that  it  is  clearly 
seen  to  contradict  the  traditional  theological  doc- 
trines, and  the  author  of  the  theory  immediately 
becomes  a  newspaper  hero,  a  modern  David 
defying  the  ecclesiastical  Goliath.  Such  cheap 
and  superficial  judgments  augur  ill  for  the 


84  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

moral     seriousness     of     the     anti-ecclesiastical 
spirit. 

Every  one  at  all  acquainted  with  the  facts 
knows  that  the  leaders  in  the  church  today  are 
actually  welcoming  the  scientific  spirit  to  a  far 
greater  degree  than  would  appear  from  a  read- 
ing of  the  unrevised  creeds  and  disciplines  which 
survive  from  former  days.  There  is  good  rea- 
son to  believe  that  the  church  does  not  deserve 
so  severe  a  reproof  for  her  spirit  as  is  currently 
assumed  by  advocates  of  the  ideal  of  freedom 
of  investigation.  Still,  it  ought  to  be  recognized 
that  the  moral  demand  for  untrammelled  inquiry 
is  uncompromisingly  opposed  to  any  program 
which  prescribes  beforehand  the  limits  within 
which  conclusions  may  be  formed.  The  scien- 
tific spirit  is  so  completely  given  over  to  the  ideal 
of  letting  future  investigations  determine  the 
future  ideas  of  men,  that  it  feels  an  irksome  re- 
straint even  in  the  suggestion  that  one  ought  to 
pledge  himself  to  hold  fast  doctrines  which  have 
been  regarded  as  absolutely  essential  to  Chris- 
tianity. It  is  a  far  cry  from  the  days  when  the 


DISCREDITING   ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS        85 

mediaeval  church  was  in  proud  control  of  all 
the  activities  of  life  to  the  present  calm  assump- 
tion that  Christianity  must,  without  claiming  or 
asking  any  superior  authority,  enter  into  com- 
petition with  other  ideals  in  the  struggle  which 
will  ultimately  determine  the  fittest  to  survive. 
Morally  it  makes  all  the  difference  in  the  world. 
Mediaeval  Christianity  was  a  privileged  institu- 
tion. It  could  appeal  to  divine  authority  for  its 
rights.  The  modern  church  must  meet  the  com- 
petition involved  in  a  democratic  opportunity 
for  all  rivals  with  equal  opportunities.  Obvi- 
ously, when  the  rules  of  the  game  are  defined 
as  they  are  in  our  modern  world  of  democratic 
scholarship,  any  appeal  to  authority  is  regarded 
as  a  confession  of  weakness  rather  than  of 
strength.  Thus  the  very  thing  which  constituted 
the  moral  power  of  Christianity  in  former  cen- 
turies is  today  discredited.  The  ethics  of  schol- 
arship is  opposed  to  the  ethics  of  ecclesiasticism ; 
and  the  modern  world  is  more  and  more  coming 
to  the  side  of  scholarship.  That  a  serious  crisis 
is  thus  created  is  evident. 


86  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

5.      THE  RISE  OF   A   SECULAR   ETHICS 

We  have  seen  how  business,  politics  and  schol- 
arship have  become  completely  emancipated 
from  ecclesiastic  control.  Each  has  developed 
ideals  of  its  own,  which  are  actually  constituting 
the  basis  of  social  activity  in  the  modern  world. 
It  was  characteristic  of  the  earlier  development 
of  these  secular  movements  that  great  enthusi- 
asm and  optimism  were  engendered.  It  was  felt 
that  when  the  power  of  the  church  was  once 
broken,  the  exercise  of  freedom  in  thought  and 
in  action  would  soon  so  adjust  matters  that  fric- 
tion would  be  removed  and  the  spirit  of  man  be 
emancipated  to  enter  upon  unlimited  progress* 
The  eighteenth  century  was  especially  marked 
by  this  youthful  optimism.  In  the  place  of  the 
older  religion  of  authority,  the  Deists  proposed 
a  universal  religion  of  reason,  which  all  men 
would  voluntarily  adopt,  just  because  it  was  rea- 
sonable. In  the  place  of  the  older  control  of 
industry,  the  Manchester  school  of  economists 
predicted  the  abolition  of  tyranny  and  oppres- 


DISCREDITING   ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS        87 

sion  by  the  simple  and  apparently  reasonable 
plan  of  unrestricted  freedom  of  contract.  In 
the  realm  of  scholarship  and  education,  the  elim- 
ination of  religious  control  was  believed  to  open 
the  way  for  a  broader  and  finer  culture. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  the  earlier  optimism 
has  not  been  entirely  justified.  As  the  new 
ideals  have  developed  without  adequate  organi- 
zation around  a  central  religious  ideal,  they  have 
often  come  into  conflict.  The  result  is  a  very 
general  confusion  in  the  minds  of  men  who  are 
discovering  that  the  fragmentary  customs  and 
aims  of  the  various  walks  of  life  do  not  always 
fit  into  a  unified  whole.  "Business  is  business," 
says  the  man  of  affairs,  when  he  is  reproached 
for  pressing  his  industrial  advantage  to  the  in- 
jury of  others.  The  ethics  of  modern  industry, 
admirable  as  they  are  in  certain  respects,  are 
nevertheless  at  many  points  sorely  in  conflict 
with  the  moral  demands  of  humanitarian  inter- 
ests. "Politics  is  not  a  Sunday  School  affair," 
declares  the  man  who  is  confronted  with  the 
opportunity  of  securing  certain  desirable  politi- 


SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

cal  ends  by  means  which  cannot  be  made  public. 
Democracy  brings  its  temptations  as  surely  as 
any  other  form  of  government.  "The  standards 
of  scholarship  must  be  maintained/'  says  the 
schoolmaster,  when  he  is  urged  to  alter  the  cur- 
riculum so  as  to  fit  boys  and  girls  more  ade- 
quately for  the  life  before  them.  Everywhere 
are  the  signs  of  maladjustment  as  the  different 
realms  of  human  activity  have  been  experiment- 
ing without  adequate  guidance  from  any  great 
central  interpretation  of  the  meaning  of  life. 

Out  of  this  process  of  experimentation  has 
grown  a  new  conception  of  the  task  of  ethics. 
Until  recently,  even  the  alleged  secular  systems 
were  not  really  different  in  principle  from  the 
ecclesiastical  theories  which  they  were  seeking 
to  supplant.  In  the  place  of  the  canonical  scrip- 
ture or  the  authoritative  church  they  simply  set 
the  authority  of  certain  a  priori  principles  of 
reason.  Specific  duties  were  ascertained  by  a 
process  of  deduction  from  these  principles.  But 
we  are  seeing  today  the  rise  of  a  new  method  of 
valuing  human  action.  This  newer  method 


DISCREDITING   ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS        89 

abandons  appeal  to  a  priori  principles,  and  seeks 
instead  to  gain  an  adequate  understanding  of 
the  rise  of  ethical  needs  in  the  evolution  of  the 
race,  and  to  discover  by  an  accurate  analysis  of 
that  evolution  the  sort  of  conduct  which  fur- 
thers the  normal  and  wholesome  progress  of  so- 
cial and  individual  life.  Ethical  precepts  thus 
are  made  relative  to  human  needs  instead  of  be- 
ing referred  to  any  superhuman  or  pre-human 
source. 

The  consequence  of  this  historical  and  em- 
pirical approach  to  the  subject  is  the  elimination 
of  the  last  vestige  of  the  mediaeval  attitude.  It 
was  fundamental  to  that  attitude  to  think  of  the 
principles  of  morality  as  having  been  revealed 
and  promulgated  in  permanent  form.  Conse- 
quently a  true  ethics  was  believed  to  be  univer- 
sally valid  for  all  ages  and  races  and  conditions 
of  mankind.  Any  divergence  from  this  eternal 
code  would  be  considered  as  positively  wrong. 
From  this  point  of  view,  it  was  natural  to  as- 
sume that  the  ecclesiastical  system  represented 
the  unchanging  truth.  But  the  adoption  of  the 


9<D  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

historical  method  of  studying  morality  means 
that  all  ideals,  including  the  ecclesiastical  system, 
are  seen  to  be  historically  conditioned.  Of  none 
can  we  say  that  it  is  "absolutely"  good  in  any 
timeless  sense.  Of  all  we  may  truthfully  say 
that  they  arose  under  the  pressure  of  definite 
interests  in  connection  with  specific  circum- 
stances. Ethics,  therefore,  becomes  a  science  of 
relative  values  rather  than  an  exposition  of 
"absolute"  truths.  Of  course,  there  are  certain 
abiding  human  traits  and  needs,  as  there  are 
certain  abiding  conditions  of  human  life;  and 
these  will  continue  to  require  certain  funda- 
mental moral  principles.  But  the  validity  of 
such  principles  is  referred  to  the  needs  of  hu- 
manity in  its  present  relations  to  the  world  and 
to  society  rather  than  to  superhuman  sanctions. 
It  is  true  that  this  view  of  ethics  is  not  yet 
universally  apprehended.  Probably  popular 
thinking,  and  to  some  extent  professional  writ- 
ing on  the  subject,  will  for  some  time  to  come 
be  dominated  by  the  older  conception  of  eter- 
nally valid  a  priori  principles.  But  the  fruitful 


DISCREDITING   ECCLESIASTICAL  ETHICS       QI 

work  of  those  who  in  recent  years  have  been 
employing  the  empirical  and  historical  method, 
and  who  are  slowly  but  surely  revealing  the  in- 
timate relations  between  moral  precepts  and  con- 
crete human  needs  set  in  certain  definite  eco- 
nomic and  social  situations,  is  beginning  to  make 
itself  felt  in  all  realms  of  the  spiritual  life. 
Little  by  little  men,  even  in  the  churches,  are 
accustoming  themselves  to  the  notion  that  a 
more  accurate  understanding  of  the  duties  of 
the  day  can  be  ascertained  by  an  empirical  study 
of  the  facts  than  by  the  exegesis  of  any  ancient 
literature.  So  important  does  this  first-hand 
study  of  social  life  seem  to  many  of  the  leaders 
of  modern  enterprises,  that  institutions  which 
are  addressing  themselves  to  our  most  pressing 
modern  social  problems  are  likely  to  feel  con- 
siderable impatience  with  the  ecclesiastical  con- 
science, which  can  so  easily  reason  from  a  priori 
principles  to  conclusions  which  often  fail  to  re- 
late themselves  practically  to  the  definite  prob- 
lems in  hand.  Our  settlements,  our  charity  or- 
ganizations, our  civic  welfare  movements  and 


92  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

other  enterprises  of  undoubted  moral  signifi- 
cance are  employing  the  methods  of  the  em- 
pirical investigator  rather  than  the  methods  of 
the  churchman.  It  seems  likely  that  this  spirit 
of  inductive  study  of  the  conditions  of  human 
conduct  and  welfare  will  more  and  more  domi- 
nate the  progress  of  morals;  and  the  church,  in 
so  far  as  it  preserves  the  mediaeval  attitude,  will 
find  itself  discredited  by  modern  organizations 
with  an  ethical  purpose. 

6.      THE  HISTORICAL  EXPLANATION  OF  RELIGION 

Finally,  attention  should  be  called  to  the  fact 
that  even  the  study  of  religion  itself,  which  is 
naturally  a  realm  in  which  the  church  should  feel 
itself  secure,  is  being  secularized.  Theological 
scholarship  in  Protestant  seminaries  is  rapidly 
committing  itself  without  reserve  to  the  scien- 
tific method,  which  means  the  ideal  of  searching 
for  the  truth  without  pledging  oneself  before- 
hand to  uphold  the  doctrines  approved  by  the 
church.  Those  who  are  engaged  in  the  tasks  of 
theological  scholarship  today  are  keenly  aware 


DISCREDITING   ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS       93 

of  the  crisis  through  which  we  have  been  pass- 
ing in  recent  years.  It  is  only  within  the  past 
two  decades  that  Old  Testament  scholars  have 
felt  generally  free  to  give  to  the  facts  of  He- 
brew history  an  interpretation  radically  different 
from  that  which  the  church  had  held.  Even  to- 
day the  espousal  of  critical  scholarship  is  apt  to 
involve  the  theologian  in  the  necessity  of  apolo- 
gising for  his  work  whenever  he  encounters  the 
ecclesiastical  type  of  conscience.  In  the  New 
Testament,  the  break  with  tradition  involves  a 
new  attitude  toward  certain  doctrines  which 
have  been  regarded  as  central  in  Christian  faith, 
and  it  will  be  some  time  before  complete  free- 
dom will  be  acknowledged  there.  But  the  signifi- 
cant aspect  of  the  situation  is  the  steady  progress 
of  the  scientific  and  critical  method  as  over 
against  the  method  of  authoritative  exegesis. 
Even  when  critical  scholarship  affirms  traditional 
doctrines,  the  method  by  which  the  conclusions 
are  reached  involves  as  complete  an  emancipa- 
tion from  ecclesiastical  control  as  would  be  em- 
bodied in  conclusions  which  diverged  from  those 


94  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

approved  by  the  church.  The  modern  theologi- 
cal scholar  holds  the  convictions  which  he  does, 
not  because  they  are  dictated  to  him  by  divine 
authority,  but  because,  after  using  the  best  means 
of  inquiry  available,  these  conclusions  seem  to  be 
justified. 

It  is  true  that  this  outcome  is  not  clearly  seen 
by  all  those  who  profess  to  employ  the  critical 
method.  The  results  of  the  historical  method  of 
study  yield  such  fruitful  insights  into  the  na- 
ture of  religion  and  ethics  that,  in  estimating  the 
gains,  wre  are  often  led  to  overlook  the  fact  that 
these  same  gains  are  accompanied  by  the  loss 
of  the  older  principle  of  authority.  Little  by 
little,  however,  it  will  become  clear  to  all  that 
in  so  far  as  theological  scholarship  actually  fol- 
lows critical  methods  it  has  abandoned  the  pos- 
sibility of  following  the  voice  of  ecclesiastical 
dictation.  It  refuses  to  allow  the  church  to  have 
the  final  word  as  to  the  meaning  of  religion.  It 
insists  on  the  historical  relativity  of  biblical  doc- 
trines, thereby  contradicting  the  theory  that 
these  doctrines  have  a  super-historical  origin. 


DISCREDITING   ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS       95 

It  is  progressively  recognizing  that  Christianity 
did  not  come  into  existence  and  grow  up  in  quar- 
antine from  all  pagan  influences ;  but  that,  on  the 
contrary,  it  felt  and  responded  to  the  same  his- 
torical exigencies  which  contributed  to  the  mak- 
ing of  pagan  religions.  Little  by  little  it  is  com- 
ing to  be  seen  that  there  is  not  so  wide  a  gulf 
between  the  religion  of  the  Bible  and  the  kindred 
religions  of  biblical  times  as  was  presupposed  in 
the  traditional  interpretation  of  scripture;  and 
that  there  is  not  so  absolute  a  difference  as  has 
been  commonly  assumed  between  the  way  in 
which  the  men  of  the  Bible  arrived  at  their  con- 
victions and  the  way  in  which  men  in  later  times 
achieved  their  faith.  In  short,  a  secular  rather 
than  an  ecclesiastical  explanation  of  the  origin 
of  Christianity  is  coming  to  be  a  commonplace 
in  theological  literature.  This,  it  scarcely  needs 
to  be  said,  does  not  mean  the  denial  of  the  great- 
ness of  Christianity;  but  it  does  mean  an  ex- 
planation of  that  greatness  which  is  strikingly 
different  from  the  interpretation  which  the 
church  has  given. 


96  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

Moreover,  the  application  of  the  scientific 
spirit  to  the  study  of  the  non-Christian  religions 
of  today  is  leading  to  a  new  valuation  of  these. 
They,  like  Christianity,  are  seen  to  be  histori- 
cally conditioned,  and  to  have  received  the  form 
which  characterizes  them  because  of  the  exigen- 
cies which  they  had  to  meet.  Traits  which 
would  be  decidedly  immoral  for  men  educated 
in  western  traditions  may  be  of  quite  different 
import  for  the  oriental.  We  cannot  judge  by 
any  absolute  standard.  Indeed,  we  are  coming 
to  see  that  the  oriental  may  have  developed  cer- 
tain virtues  which  the  different  round  of  western 
influences  has  failed  to  evoke.  At  any  rate,  it 
is  no  longer  respectable  among  scholars  to  seek 
to  show  the  utter  depravity  of  pagan  nations  as 
a  step  in  the  process  of  proving  the  perfection 
of  Christianity.  Every  religion  must  receive  a 
historical  explanation. 

Thus  the  new  spirit  has  entered  into  the  very 
citadel  of  our  religious  thinking.  We  are  rap- 
idly becoming  accustomed  to  the  idea  of  form- 
ing our  opinions  concerning  Christianity  with- 


DISCREDITING   ECCLESIASTICAL   ETHICS       Q7 

out  feeling  bound  to  accept  the  guidance  of  the 
church.  We  have  secularized  the  methods  by 
which  we  apprehend  Christianity  itself.  The 
consequences  of  this  new  scholarship  will  be  pro- 
found and  far-reaching  when  they  are  allowed 
freely  to  operate.  The  Roman  Catholic  church, 
with  its  sensitiveness  to  all  that  threatens  the 
supremacy  of  ecclesiastical  standards,  has  entered 
upon  a  war  of  extermination.  Protestantism  is 
divided  into  two  camps  over  this  very  question, 
but  in  the  absence  of  an  adequate  ecclesiastical 
organization  is  unable  to  preserve  the  temper  of 
mind  which  is  essential  to  a  vigorous  warfare 
against  modernism.  Steadily  in  the  schools  of 
theology  the  scientific  spirit  is  growing,  and  min- 
isters are  learning  to  discharge  their  duties  with 
an  ever-increasing  confidence  in  the  empirical  as 
opposed  to  the  authority  method. 

Thus  the  question  becomes  acute  whether  the 
introduction  of  the  newer  methods  is  accom- 
panied by  a  clear  apprehension  of  the  ethical 
aspects  of  their  use.  If  the  sense  of  moral  obli- 
gation to  the  church  be  eliminated,  is  the  change 


98  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

accompanied  by  a  new  moral  enthusiasm?  Or 
does  it  mean  a  privileged  laxity  on  the  part  of 
scholars?  The  challenge  involved  in  this  transi- 
tion from  the  mediaeval  to  the  modern  type  of 
thinking  is  one  that  should  engage  our  serious 
attention.  To  this  challenge  we  must  now  turn, 
in  order  to  feel  the  force  of  the  moral  issue  in 
present-day  religious  thinking. 


Ill 

THE  MORAL  CHALLENGE  OF  THE  MODERN 

WORLD 

IN  the  survey  of  Christian  history  which  we 
have  made,  we  have  seen  how  the  moral  exigen- 
cies of  the  early  centuries  of  our  era  made  neces- 
sary the  development  of  a  system  of  authoritative 
control  of  ideals  in  order  to  preserve  the  stand- 
ards of  the  higher  life  and  to  educate  the  bar- 
barians into  a  condition  of  political  and  social 
self-sufficiency.  But  the  very  success  of  the 
church  in  organizing  the  life  of  the  Middle  Ages 
under  the  direction  of  her  institutional  and  doc- 
trinal control  brought  into  Christian  conscious- 
ness the  conception  of  a  closed  and  final  system 
of  morals  and  religion.  So  fixed  did  this  belief 
in  the  infallibility  of  the  established  system  be- 
come that  it  has  cost  a  hard  and  long  struggle 
to  transcend  it.  Consequently,  as  we  have  al- 

99 


IOO  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

ready  seen,  when  the  new  movements  which 
have  produced  what  we  know  as  the  modern 
world  began  to  make  themselves  felt,  the  church 
was  unable  to  make  a  place  for  them  within  her 
system.  These  interests,  therefore,  proceeded 
to  organize  themselves  without  consulting  the 
larger  spiritual  ideals  which  might  have  been 
supplied  by  the  church.  Thus  there  has  come 
into  existence  our  modern  society,  with  its  secu- 
larized business,  its  secularized  politics,  it  secu- 
larized education,  its  secularized  science,  and  its 
increasing  disregard  for  the  somewhat  uncer- 
tain attempts  of  the  church  to  grapple  with  the 
situation. 

We  thus  stand  today  more  nearly  in  the  posi- 
tion of  the  Christians  of  the  first  three  centuries 
than  has,  perhaps,  ever  been  the  case  since  those 
early  days.  We  can  no  longer  speak  of  a 
"Christian"  civilization,  however  we  may  be 
tempted  to  do  so.  Some  of  the  greatest  achieve- 
ments of  which  our  age  boasts  are  due  to  secular 
enterprise  which  has  won  its  right  to  freedom 
only  after  a  bitter  warfare  with  the  ecclesiastical 


THE    MORAL    CHALLEtfQE  ;  iOT 

conscience.  This  conflict,  as  we  have  already 
noted,  has  left  a  hostility  toward  theology  which 
in  subtle  or  in  unconcealed  ways  finds  expres- 
sion in  the  text-books  and  treatises  which  stu- 
dents and  intelligent  citizens  read  for  informa- 
tion. The  culture  of  our  day,  more  generally 
than  we  like  to  admit,  assumes  a  half -pity  ing, 
half-contemptuous  attitude  toward  the  tradi- 
tional forms  and  efforts  of  Christianity.  The 
church  thus  finds  itself,  as  did  the  church  of  the 
early  days,  surrounded  by  a  culture  which  is 
really  not  in  sympathy  with  its  aims.  Editors 
of  newspapers  know  that  they  can  count  upon 
plenty  of  delighted  readers  who  enjoy  the  dis- 
comfiture of  the  church  or  of  the  theologians. 

If  Christianity  is  to  dominate  this  new  situa- 
tion, the  first  duty  is  to  look  the  facts  squarely 
in  the  face,  in  order  to  determine  precisely  the 
nature  of  the  task  before  it.  The  moral  chal- 
lenge of  the  modern  world  must  be  considered, 
in  order  that  the  duty  of  a  moral  theology  may 
be  made  plain.  One  of  the  heartening  symp- 
toms of  our  day  is  the  large  amount  of  attention 


ID2  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

which  is  being  paid  to  this  phase  of  philosophi- 
cal, ethical  and  religious  reconstruction.1  There 
is  danger  that  if  the  church  does  not  awake  to 
the  seriousness  of  the  situation  she  may  seem 
to  be  expending  all  her  energies  in  simply  keep- 
ing alive.  The  great  desideratum  of  today  is 
an  aggressive  program  for  Christianity  which 
shall  command  the  moral  enthusiasm  of  men. 

I.  THE  CHALLENGE  DUE  TO  THE  CONCEPTION 
OF  EVOLUTION  AS  THE  FUNDAMENTAL 
PRINCIPLE  OF  HISTORY 

If  our  situation  is  like  that  of  the  early  Chris- 
tians in  one  respect,  viz.,  in  so  far  as  we  are 
surrounded,  as  they  were,  by  a  culture  which  is 
either  indifferent  or  hostile  to  Christian  ideals — 
in  another  way  it  is  strikingly  different.  They 
expected  the  great  catastrophe  from  heaven  at 
any  time,  which  would  speedily  bring  to  an  end 
the  kingdoms  of  this  world  and  leave  Christ 

1  While  the  discussion  in  these  pages  was  being  written, 
President  King  published  his  book  with  the  suggestive  title, 
"The  Moral  and  Religious  Challenge  of  Our  Times."  (New 
York,  Macmillan,  1912.) 


THE    MORAL   CHALLENGE  103 

supreme  in  the  Messianic  kingdom.  It  was  pos- 
sible, therefore,  for  them  to  devote  themselves 
entirely  to  the  prerequisites  of  that  other-worldly 
kingdom.  No  provision  need  be  made  for  future 
generations  on  this  earth.  In  spite  of  the  fact 
that  the  mediaeval  church  undertook  the  organi- 
zation of  society  her  ideals  were  dominated  by 
this  primitive  eschatology.  The  church  was  to 
rule  the  world,  indeed,  but  it  was  not  for  the 
purpose  of  making  this  world  the  ultimate  scene 
of  her  triumph.  Her  glory  was  to  be  found  in 
the  number  of  redeemed  souls  in  heaven.  The 
miracles  which  were  wrought  through  her  were 
believed  to  be  more  significant  than  were  social 
achievements  in  the  realm  of  industry  or  poli- 
tics. 

Protestantism  also  preserved  this  funda- 
mental other-worldly  emphasis.  The  miracle 
was,  indeed,  transferred  from  the  external  sacra- 
ments to  the  inner  workings  of  the  Spirit  in  the 
life  of  the  individual;  but  the  emphasis  was 
none  the  less  laid  on  rescue  from  this  world  and 
preparation  for  heaven.  To  be  able  to  testify 


IO4  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

to  redemption  from  sin  through  the  miraculous 
provisions  of  the  plan  of  atonement  was  re- 
garded as  the  supreme  test  of  Christian  life.  It 
is  true  that  Protestantism,  especially  under  the 
influence  of  Luther,  did  assume  a  direct  ethical 
interest  in  non-ecclesiastical  enterprises;  yet  the 
motive  underlying  good  works  was  essentially 
tHe  eschatological  one  of  the  primitive  church. 
To  hear  the  approving  voice  of  God  at  the  final 
judgment  rather  than  to  rejoice  in  the  possibility 
of  better  moral  conditions  on  this  earth  has  been 
the  supreme  motive  for  right  living  proclaimed 
by  the  church. 

If  one  wishes  to  realize  what  a  difference 
there  is  between  this  traditional  evangelical  em- 
phasis and  the  modern  social  ideal,  it  would  be 
interesting  to  try  the  experiment  of  first  read- 
ing some  modern  discussion  of  a  moral  pro- 
gram which  gains  its  power  from  the  vision  of 
a  better  social  order  which  we  may  help  bring 
into  existence,  and  then  to  turn  to  a  hymn  book 
for  poetic  inspiration.  One  realizes  thus,  with 
something  of  a  shock,  how  largely  our  Chris- 


THE    MORAL    CHALLENGE  IO5 

tian  devotion  has  been  stimulated  by  visions  of 
the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  the  glories  of  which  we 
may  enjoy  only  after  death  has  removed  us 
from  this  earth.  "I'm  but  a  stranger  here; 
heaven  is  my  home."  "This  consecrated  cross 
I'll  bear  till  death  shall  set  me  free;  and  then 
go  home  a  crown  to  wear;  for  there's  a  crown 
for  me."  "A  charge  to  keep  I  have,  a  God  to 
glorify,  a  never-dying  soul  to  save,  and  fit  it 
for  the  sky."  "My  soul,  be  on  thy  guard;  ten 
thousand  foes  arise;  the  hosts  of  sin  are  press- 
ing hard,  to  draw  thee  from  the  skies." — Such 
are  the  hymns  on  which  our  spiritual  aspirations 
have  been  fed.  The  constantly  repeated  empha- 
sis on  the  sky  as  the  truest  source  of  re- 
ligious experience  is  significant.  So  accustomed 
are  we  to  this  point  of  view  that  we  see  nothing 
ludicrous  in  the  sight  of  a  procession  of  innocent 
children  marching  and  singing,  "Jerusalem,  my 
happy  home,  would  God  I  were  in  thee;  would 
God  my  woes  were  at  an  end,  Thy  joys  that  I 
might  see."  Such  expressions  of  religious 
fervor  assume  that  the  present  world  is  in  a 


IO6  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

hopeless  state.  Like  the  Pilgrim  in  Bunyan's 
famous  allegory,  we  are  to  leave  it  behind  and 
seek  the  celestial  city. 

But  for  the  past  four  centuries  a  totally  differ- 
ent conception  of  our  world  has  been  domesti- 
cating itself  in  our  thought;  and  when  we  are 
not  under  the  domination  of  the  eschatological 
inheritance  from  the  church,  we  instinctively  act 
on  the  supposition  that  the  newer  scientific  view 
is  the  correct  one.  We  become  spectators  of  an 
age-long  cosmic  history,  the  immensity  of  which 
fairly  bewilders  us,  while  it  gives  to  us  tre- 
mendous inspiration.  Our  world  is  not  hope- 
lessly decadent,  doomed  to  utter  destruction  in 
the  course  of  a  few  days  or  years.  It  is  vigorous 
with  the  splendid  strength  of  youth.  Back  of 
us  stretch  the  uncounted  ages  during  which  star 
dust  was  gathered  together  and  organized  into 
the  marvelous  symphony  of  form  and  motion. 
Little  by  little  our  planet  was  prepared  for  the 
life  which  began  its  wonderful  course  of  evolu- 
tion. Today  we  see  man  just  emerging  from 
helpless  infancy  into  a  real  consciousness  of  his 


THE    MORAL    CHALLENGE 

power;  and  before  the  human  race  stretch  mil- 
lions and  millions  of  years  in  which  progress 
may  be  made. 

The  consequences  of  this  new  view  of  the 
place  of  man  in  the  universe  are  only  beginning 
to  be  apprehended.  The  effect  of  the  eschato- 
logical  conception  was  to  limit  the  aspirations  of 
men  to  the  immediate  generation  in  which  they 
lived.  Today  we  are  seeing  new  ideals  of  duty 
arise  as  a  consequence  of  the  recognition  of  the 
enormous  future  of  humanity.  We  are  begin- 
ning to  set  a  valuation  upon  the  natural  re- 
sources of  this  earth  and  to  make  far-reaching 
plans  so  that  future  generations  may  not  be 
bankrupt  because  of  our  short-sighted  policies. 
When  we  see  how  in  the  past  precious  resources 
have  been  wasted  or  have  not  been  used  to 
advantage,  just  because  of  the  narrow  out- 
look belonging  to  a  smaller  world  view,  we 
begin  to  appreciate  what  a  tremendous  difference 
it  is  going  to  make  when  men  actually  come  to 
think  of  this  earth  as  the  place  where  their  de- 
scendants for  countless  generations  are  to  live, 


IO8  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

rather  than  as  a  transient  locality  doomed  to 
speedy  destruction.  As  President  King  has  re- 
marked: "Think,  for  example,  of  President 
Roosevelt's  plan  for  conserving  the  resources  of 
the  entire  earth.  One  may  be  pardoned  for 
doubting  whether  there  was  a  man  of  the  last 
generation  with  imagination  enough  even  to  set 
the  problem."2 

It  is  immediately  evident  that  the  presence  of 
such  a  far-sighted  planning  for  an  indefinite 
future  constitutes  a  challenge  to  a  Christian 
ideal  which  limits  its  plans  to  cover  simply  the 
eternal  welfare  of  those  who  are  now  alive.  The 
spirit  of  our  age  is  no  longer  contented  with  a 
policy  which  formulates  itself  in  terms  of  res- 
cue work.  Preventive  measures  are  more  and 
more  coming  to  the  front.  The  traditional  "mis- 
sion" in  the  poverty-stricken  portion  of  a  great 
city  seems  to  the  modern  social  worker  to  be 
blind  to  some  of  the  obvious  undertakings  which 
demand  active  aggressive  labor.  Can  we  be 

aThe  Moral  and  Religious  Challenge  of  Our  Times,  p. 
103. 


THE   MORAL   CHALLENGE  1 09 

content  to  "save"  a  few  souls  in  this  generation, 
if  the  children  of  these  same  "souls"  are  to  be 
overwhelmed  by  the  same  physical  and  social 
forces  which  occasioned  the  downfall  of  their 
parents?  Noble  as  is  the  service  which  Chris- 
tian charity  renders  to  those  who  are  in  want, 
can  we  be  content  with  the  perpetuation  of 
economic  conditions  which  make  such  charity 
the  inevitable,  but  undeserved,  lot  of  thousands? 
The  immensely  lengthened  perspective  which 
has  been  introduced  by  the  doctrine  of  evolution 
has  brought  into  discredit  a  type  of  religious 
ethics  which  is  satisfied  with  the  mere  regenera- 
tion of  individuals  here  and  now,  without  also 
definitely  planning  to  make  less  necessary  such 
rescue  for  the  coming  generations. 

It  will  help  toward  a  reconstruction  of  our 
attitude  in  this  matter,  if  we  remember  that  the 
eschatological  hope,  which  is  now  being  aban- 
doned in  our  modern  thought,  had  a  distinctly 
social  and  political  origin.  The  better  future  of 
Israel  was  pictured  as  a  kingdom  on  this  earth 
full  of  joy  and  blessedness  and  righteousness, 


11(3  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

It  was  only  when  the  hopelessness  of  any  agita- 
tion for  political  reform  so  long  as  the  nation 
remained  under  foreign  rulership  was  realized, 
that  the  appeal  of  faith  was  made  to  the  miracle 
of  the  heavenly  Jerusalem.  With  a  better  un- 
derstanding of  the  Old  Testament  comes  the  in- 
spiration which  leads  naturally  to  a  new  appre- 
ciation of  the  Israelitish  hope  for  a  nation  of 
righteousness  where  future  generations  on  this 
earth  may  enjoy  the  blessings  of  God's  righteous 
dominion. 

Indeed,  as  the  church  has  been  pursuing  with 
vigor  her  task  of  evangelization,  she  has  come 
to  realize  more  and  more  the  importance  of  this 
larger  outlook.  Today  the  missionary  enterprise 
is  being  shifted  from  a  program  of  rescuing  a 
few  souls  from  eternal  disaster  to  the  ideal  of  a 
long  campaign  of  education  and  social  recon- 
struction in  the  non-Christian  nations.  A  signifi- 
cant change  may  be  observed  in  the  motives  to 
which  those  soliciting  men  and  money  for  mis- 
sions appeal.  Increasing  emphasis  is  being  laid 
on  the  claims  of  the  social  and  political  future 


THE    MORAL    CHALLENGE  III 

of  the  non-Christian  peoples  on  this  earth. 
With  gratifying  in  frequency  do  we  hear  echoes 
of  the  argument  once  so  much  in  vogue,  which 
harrowed  men's  feelings  by  appalling  arithmeti- 
cal calculations  concerning  the  numbers  of 
heathen  who  were  being  eternally  lost  every  mo- 
ment. In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  where 
the  church  is  taking  her  duty  most  seriously 
she  is  most  sensitive  to  the  demands  which 
grow  out  of  the  long  look  ahead. 

But  when  all  has  been  said,  it  remains  evi- 
dent that  the  current  theological  and  ethical 
treatises  too  often  embody  a  sense  of  perplexity 
due  to  the  two  different  world  views.  There  is 
on  the  one  hand  the  inherited  feeling  that  the 
interests  of  this  world  are  somehow  "secular/' 
and  are  therefore  to  be  excluded  from  a  pro- 
gram which  is  concerned  to  fit  men  for  heaven. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  is  the  recognition  that 
these  same  worldly  interests  are  actually  too  ab- 
sorbing to  be  ignored.  The  consequence  is  a 
paralysis  of  moral  vigor  in  dealing  with  some  of 
the  great  social  problems.  For  example,  an  ade- 


112  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

quate  understanding  of  the  biological,  social  and 
moral  facts  of  human  life  brings  clearly  before 
us  the  imperative  need  for  wholesome  recreation 
in  order  to  prevent  city  dwellers  from  succumb- 
ing to  the  pessimism  engendered  by  modern  con- 
ditions of  toil  and  of  home  life.  But  the  ethical 
traditions  of  our  churches  and  the  preaching  of 
evangelists  portray  amusement  as  a  distinctly 
worldly  thing,  unworthy  the  attention  of  a  con- 
sistent Christian.  As  a  result,  the  church  is  evi- 
dently embarrassed  in  dealing  with  this  problem 
of  primary  importance  for  the  welfare  of  the 
young.  This  hesitancy  on  the  part  of  those 
whose  business  it  is  to  conserve  spiritual  ideals 
has  allowed  the  means  of  amusement  to  be  pro- 
vided in  the  main  by  those  who  have  no  high 
ethical  motives,  but  who  recognize  a  tremendous 
opportunity  for  financial  gain  in  exploiting  hu- 
manity in  its  inevitable  search  for  relaxation. 
There  are  not  wanting  men  shrewd  enough  to 
see  that,  if  once  the  standards  of  the  church  can 
be  transgressed  in  matters  of  slight  importance, 
the  moral  sense  of  boys  and  girls  will  be  so  con- 


THE   MORAL   CHALLENGE  113 

fused  that  it  becomes  possible  to  introduce  the 
attractions  of  actual  viciousness  without  any 
adequate  perception  of  the  difference  between 
wholesome  fun  and  harmful  excitement  on  the 
part  of  those  who  have  been  trained  to  consider 
all  pleasure  sinful.  The  moral  disintegration 
which  is  being  wrought  in  our  youth  by  the 
actual  habitual  indulgence  in  forms  of  amuse- 
ment which  are  technically  adjudged  sinful  by 
the  traditional  ecclesiastical  conscience  is  a  seri- 
ous menace.  Only  the  abandonment  on  the  part 
of  the  church  of  the  ascetic  attitude  which  natu- 
rally accompanies  the  other-worldly  conception 
of  the  religious  life,  and  the  frank  recognition 
of  the  positive  value  of  the  natural  instincts  and 
aspirations  belonging  to  the  so-called  "secular" 
life,  can  put  Christianity  in  a  position  to  deal 
vigorously  with  some  of  the  primary  moral 
problems  of  our  day. 

Important  as  is  the  task  of  rescuing  individu- 
als from  the  evils  of  their  environment,  it  is 
equally  imperative  to  assume  responsibility  for 
the  environment  itself  which  exercises  so  potent 


114  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

an  influence  in  the  shaping  of  character.  Such 
a  conception  of  the  moral  task  of  humanity  is 
overwhelming  in  its  scope  and  its  intricacy.  It 
challenges  Christianity  to  an  undertaking  which, 
if  it  be  once  recognized,  will  absorb  all  the  en- 
thusiasm and  all  the  activity  which  can  be  in- 
spired by  the  Christian  spirit  for  countless  gen- 
erations. In  a  day  when  the  imagination  is 
stirred  by  the  possibilities  of  creating  a  new 
earth  in  which  prosperity  and  righteousness  shall 
prevail,  a  Christianity  which  doctrinally  pro- 
claims this  world  to  be  a  "city  of  destruction" 
from  which  to  flee  to  the  "celestial  city"  will  find 
its  influence  steadily  lessening. 

2.  THE  CHALLENGE  INVOLVED  IN  THE  DEVELOP- 
MENT OF  SCIENTIFIC  CONTROL  OF  THE 
CONDITIONS  OF  LIFE 

A  natural  concomitant  of  the  eschatological 
point  of  view  which  entered  into  historical 
Christianity  was  the  appeal  to  miracle  as  the 
supreme  means  of  salvation.  So  long  as  the 


THE    MORAL    CHALLENGE  115 

destinies  of  life  were  pictured  in  another  world, 
while  this  earth  was  believed  to  be  doomed  to 
destruction,  it  would  naturally  be  futile  to  de- 
pend on  secular  resources  for  the  ends  to  be 
attained  by  religion.  Even  more  important  was 
the  fact  that  the  ancient  world  knew  little  of 
the  methods  of  scientific  control.  The  attention 
of  philosophers  was  directed  to  the  considera- 
tion of  metaphysical  problems  or  to  the  analysis 
of  the  inner  life  of  the  soul.  The  exact  methods 
of  experiment  and  of  verification  which  are  es- 
sential to  the  perfection  of  scientific  control 
were  not  employed  sufficiently  to  make  their 
value  evident.  Moreover,  during  the  dark  ages, 
even  the  science  which  had  been  worked  out  in 
the  classical  period  was  largely  lost. 

The  psychological  effect  of  this  lack  of  scien- 
tific control  is  reflected  in  the  religious  beliefs 
and  practices  of  unscientific  peoples.  If  one 
does  not  know  exactly  the  cause  of  disaster,  the 
attempt  to  remove  or  to  avert  it  naturally  takes 
the  form  of  appeal  to  occult  and  mysterious 
powers.  Fetichism,  magic,  mysterious  incanta- 


Il6  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

tions,  elaborate  rituals,  sacrifices  and  the  like  are 
employed  in  the  hope  of  inducing  some  unseen 
power  to  intervene  to  the  advantage  of  the  in- 
dividual engaging  in  the  prescribed  practices. 
Where  there  is  ignorance  of  scientific  principles, 
the  exigencies  of  life  lead  to  bizarre  and  erratic 
attempts  to  secure  the  goods  which  men  desire. 
In  so  far  as  morality  is  connected  with  re- 
ligion, it  shares  this  erratic  character.  Moral 
values  are  attached  to  conformity  to  supersti- 
tious customs. 

In  the  case  of  Christianity,  the  splendid  moral 
traditions  of  Israel  and  of  the  New  Testament 
prevented  the  close  alliance  of  morality  with  the 
superstitions  which  characterize  many  religions. 
But  the  eschatological  emphasis  combined  with 
ignorance  of  scientific  technique  tended  to  make 
Christianity  unappreciative  of  scientific  endeavor 
when  it  actually  began  to  make  itself  felt  as  a 
means  of  control.  Indeed,  the  pessimistic  view 
of  human  achievements  which  was  inwrought 
into  theology  in  the  doctrine  of  the  natural  in- 
ability of  human  nature  served  to  make  religious 


THE    MORAL    CHALLENGE  II? 

people  suspicious  of  the  self-confidence  which  led 
men  to  announce  methods  of  action  which  did 
not  minister  to  that  absolute  dependence  on  di- 
vine grace  which  was  esteemed  as  the  highest 
mark  of  a  religious  faith.  Any  efforts  to 
ameliorate  the  condition  of  human  life  which 
did  not  flow  from  the  experience  of  divine  grace 
were  regarded  as  schemes  for  diverting  attention 
from  the  supreme  duty  of  seeking  divine  aid. 
The  evils  of  this  life  were  believed  to  have  been 
ordained  of  God  for  some  mysterious  purpose  of 
discipline.  They  could  be  endured  because  of 
the  certainty  that  in  the  next  world  all  would  be 
made  plain;  and  those  who  had  borne  sorrow 
and  pain  in  a  proper  attitude  of  religious  sub- 
mission might  trust  that  somehow  it  all  worked 
out  to  their  spiritual  welfare.  The  self-denial  of 
the  monastic  ideal  helped  to  induce  the  notion 
that  the  sinful  desire  for  pleasure  was  being  re- 
buked by  God  in  his  providence  when  he  com- 
pelled those  who  were  inclined  to  be  worldly  to 
remember  that  the  joys  of  self-indulgence  were 
really  transient  and  unsatisfying. 


Il8  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

It  is  evident  that  when  this  view  of  the  minis- 
try of  suffering  is  held,  when  one's  theodicy  de- 
pends on  being  able  to  show  that  God  is  pre- 
venting us  from  becoming  too  fond  of  this 
world  by  the  providential  plan  of  ensuring  pain 
and  disappointment  to  all  merely  earthly  appe- 
tites, any  attempt  to  relieve  human  suffering  by 
secular  means  would  be  judged  as  an  attempt  to 
frustrate  the  providential  discipline  which  God 
had  provided.  To  alleviate  the  sufferings  of 
childbirth  by  the  use  of  anaesthetics  was  for  a 
time  vigorously  denounced  as  a  sacrilegious 
scheme  to  remove  the  providentially  appointed 
consequences  of  Eve's  share  in  the  primal  sin 
of  mankind.  If  relief  from  suffering  were  pro- 
vided in  such  a  way  as  to  bear  testimony  to  the 
manifest  intervention  of  God,  well  and  good. 
Miraculous  healings  through  saints  and  relics 
might  furnish  this  evidence,  and  to  this  day  are 
encouraged  by  those  who  share  the  mediaeval 
ideals  of  religion.  But  mere  secular  experimen- 
tation with  remedies  seemed  to  be  inspired  by  a 
diabolical  curiosity. 


THE    MORAL    CHALLENGE 

Thus  so  far  as  the  physical  and  social  aspects 
of  life  were  concerned,  the  belief  that  this  world 
was  destined  to  speedy  destruction  made  it  seem 
futile  to  plan  for  improvements  which  might 
at  any  moment  be  swept  away.  The  broad  out- 
look which  makes  it  seem  to  us  worth  while  to 
begin  experiments  because,  through  scientific 
publications  and  mutual  criticism,  men  may  co- 
operate in  furthering  human  knowledge,  and 
future  generations  may  build  on  the  foundations 
which  the  past  has  laid,  was  not  present  in  con- 
nection with  the  mediaeval  valuation  of  this 
world.  To  believe  that  God  had  appointed  the 
evils  of  life  for  purposes  of  good,  which  might 
be  partially  discerned;  to  try  to  trace  a  connec- 
tion, real  or  imagined,  between  misfortune  and 
sin,  so  that  the  sufferings  of  the  individual 
could  be  interpreted  as  a  " judgment"  of  God  on 
evil-doing;  to  exercise  a  submissive  faith  amid 
sorrows — these  were  the  virtues  which  naturally 
accompanied  the  older  consciousness  of  man's 
helplessness  in  the  presence  of  adversities. 

I  was  recently  impressed  by  this  point  of  view 


I2O  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

as  I  had  occasion  to  look  over  some  old  family 
letters,  dating  from  the  first  third  of  the  last  cen- 
tury. They  were  written  by  intensely  religious 
people  whose  intelligence  was  quite  above  the 
ordinary.  But  even  the  best  intelligence  of  that 
age  was  keenly  conscious  of  the  many  foes  to 
human  welfare  which  could  not  be  overcome  by 
any  means  known  to  man.  The  miseries  and 
privations  of  life  occupied  a  prominent  place  in 
the  thinking  of  two  generations  ago.  There  was 
an  eager  desire  to  find  some  rational  explanation 
for  the  many  untoward  events  which  entered  into 
experience ;  but  there  was  no  thought  that  human 
science  could  do  much  to  relieve  the  situation. 
The  issue  must  be  left  in  the  hands  of  the  Lord. 
The  moral  duty  of  the  Christian  was  to  submit 
rather  than  to  protest.  A  high  death  rate  was 
regarded  as  an  inevitable  provision  of  an  all- 
wise  Providence,  and  was  to  be  accepted  as  one 
of  the  unchangeable  facts  of  life. 

How  utterly  different  is  our  attitude  today! 
The  presence  of  evil  arouses  our  protest.  No 
longer  do  we  submit  in  pious  resignation  when 


THE    MORAL    CHALLENGE  121 

tuberculosis  reaps  its  dreadful  harvest.  We  are 
conscious  that  we  have  a  means  of  scientific 
control,  and  our  plain  duty  is  to  make  that  con- 
trol effective.  When  cancer  claims  as  its  victim 
some  loved  member  of  our  circle,  we  pray  that 
God  may  hasten  the  day  when  the  researches  of 
medical  experts  shall  have  put  into  our  hands 
the  means  of  eliminating  this  terrible  foe.  If 
we  have  money,  we  perhaps  endow  an  institu- 
tion for  medical  research.  Within  a  generation 
a  revolution  of  striking  significance  has  been 
wrought  in  our  attitude  toward  disease.  The 
older  equipment  of  pious  philosophy  and  humble 
submission  is  antiquated,  or  is  resorted  to  only 
in  cases  where  there  is  no  prospect  of  scientific 
control  in  sight. 

One  of  the  most  suggestive  illustrations  of 
this  changed  attitude  was  to  be  seen  in  the  pro- 
gram adopted  by  the  churches  in  New  Orleans 
at  the  time  of  the  last  epidemic  of  yellow  fever 
in  that  place.  It  had  then  recently  been  de- 
monstrated that  this  disease  was  due  to  the  bite 
of  a  certain  species  of  mosquito.  The  problem 


122  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

was  to  keep  the  mosquitoes  away  from  those 
who  were  sick,  and  to  destroy  as  rapidly  as  pos- 
sible these  carriers  of  infection.  Churches  were 
for  the  time  being  transformed  into  instruction 
stations,  giving  information  in  order  that  all 
citizens  might  cooperate  with  the  scientific  ef- 
forts of  the  board  of  health.  Sermons  were 
devoted  to  this  practical  task.  People  were 
taught  that  God  had  put  into  their  hands  the 
means  of  combatting  the  unseen  sources  of  pesti- 
lence. Religious  fervor  was  turned  into  chan- 
nels of  scientific  activity,  and  such  common- 
place enterprises  as  screening  water  barrels  and 
windows  took  on  a  new  significance.  As  a  result 
of  this  new  type  of  Christian  activity,  the  epi- 
demic was  stamped  out  before  the  advent  of 
frost. 

The  revolutionary  consequences  of  this  new 
attitude  are  easily  apparent.  Formerly  the  re- 
ligious consciousness  would  have  tried  to  ex- 
plain the  presence  of  the  pestilence  as  an  act  of 
God.  Now  it  is  seen  to  be  due  to  a  lack  of  cer- 
tain sanitary  precautions.  Formerly  men  would 


THE    MORAL   CHALLENGE  123 

pray  for  an  early  autumn  with  its  beneficent 
frosts;  but  they  could  only  wait  passively  for 
the  fulfillment  of  their  hopes.  Now  prayer  is 
directed  toward  the  establishment  of  personal 
devotion  to  the  cause  of  sanitary  prevention, 
and  issues  in  active  service.  Formerly  the  con- 
stant presence  of  deaths  would  serve  to  remind 
all  men  to  prepare  for  the  judgment.  Now 
thoughts  are  directed  to  the  problem  of  prevent- 
ing death  by  destroying  the  cause  of  the  disease. 
When  once  a  successful  means  of  scientific  con- 
trol of  evil  is  known,  the  older  attitude  of  pas- 
sive submission  becomes  intolerable.  The  plain 
duty  of  the  hour  is  to  stir  men  to  make  use  of 
the  means  of  salvation  which  God  has  provided 
by  natural  means.  To  distract  attention  from 
this  duty  by  exhortations  based  on  a  pre- 
scientific  religious  philosophy  would  be  rightly 
condemned. 

Now  the  religious  consciousness  trained  in  the 
older  fashion  does  not  easily  discover  in  this 
manipulation  of  "secular"  and  "materialistic" 
resources  the  spiritual  significance  which  it 


124  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

ought  to  possess.  The  means  of  grace  have 
been  conceived  essentially  as  miraculous  provi- 
sions for  our  eternal  welfare.  But  the  processes 
of  scientific  control  are  not  miraculous.  Conse- 
quently they  are  not  evaluated  in  exactly  the 
same  way  as  the  traditional  religious  aids.  There 
is  a  real  danger  that  the  influence  of  this  tradi- 
tional emphasis  shall  lead  men  to  overlook  the 
possibility  of  a  religious  inspiration  which  may 
reveal  in  the  new  gospel  of  sanitary  and  social 
science  genuinely  Christian  motives,  and  lead 
to  an  immense  enlargement  of  the  realm  of  re- 
ligion. That  there  is  here  a  distinct  challenge 
to  our  generation  cannot  be  denied.  For  the 
benefits  of  the  modern  campaign  of  scientific 
sanitation  are  so  evidently  greater  than  those  of 
a  non-scientific  religious  philosophy,  that  man- 
kind will  eventually  espouse  the  former.  If  no 
religious  interpretation  is  given  to  the  scientific 
ideal,  it  will  come  to  constitute  a  formidable 
rival  to  the  church;  but  if  the  latent  religious 
significance  of  scientifically  directed  effort  be 
clearly  brought  out  by  Christianity,  the  territory 


THE   MORAL   CHALLENGE  125 

of  Christian  aspiration  and  activity  will  be  so 
expanded  as  to  create  boundless  enthusiasm. 
Which  of  these  alternatives  shall  come  to  prevail 
depends  largely  on  the  attitude  of  Christian  the- 
ology toward  the  scientific  ideal. 

What  has  been  said  concerning  sanitary  and 
medical  enterprises  is  equally  true  of  social  sci- 
ence. We  are  coming  to  realize,  as  our  fathers 
did  not,  that  the  spiritual  life  of  men  is  condi- 
tioned by  such  materialistic  items  as  the  housing 
which  they  can  secure,  the  number  of  hours 
which  they  sleep,  the  character  of  the  tasks  at 
which  they  must  work,  the  presence  or  absence 
of  means  of  recreation,  the  amount  and  quality 
of  their  food,  the  nature  of  the  contract  between 
employer  and  employed,  and  countless  other  sit- 
uations which  need  investigation  by  social  ex- 
perts. We  are  discovering  that  the  ideal  which 
once  seemed  to  open  a  royal  road  for  every  boy 
and  girl  to  attain  a  college  education  through  the 
preliminary  ministrations  of  the  public  high 
school  is,  under  modern  conditions,  actually  in- 
ducing a  formality  and  an  artificiality  into  edu- 


126  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

cation  which  constitute  a  serious  menace  to  the 
moral  earnestness  of  our  youth.  To  adjust  the 
public  schools  to  the  actual  needs  of  our  day  is 
a  moral  task  of  supreme  importance.  To  secure 
legislation,  so  that  the  burden  of  industrial  acci- 
dents shall  not  fall  like  a  blight  on  those  who 
are  least  able  to  bear  them,  is  an  undertaking 
which  is  arousing  as  genuine  religious  enthusi- 
asm as  is  the  foreign  missionary  enterprise 
among  the  churches.  To  secure  an  equitable  sys- 
tem of  taxation  and  a  morally  defensible  plan 
for  the  just  distribution  of  wealth  are  problems 
which  cannot  be  evaded  if  we  are  to  preserve 
our  moral  self-respect. 

Now  these  social  problems  are  to  be  solved 
by  the  application  of  scientific  control  to  the  con- 
ditions of  life.  Moral  cooperation  of  men  in 
these  enterprises  is  possible  only  as  the  moral 
significance  of  scientific  method  is  made  plain. 
The  traditional  ethics  of  the  church,  however, 
embodies  the  ideals  of  a  prescientific  age,  in 
which  the  dominant  motives  are  the  prominence 
of  other-worldly  considerations  and  the  expecta- 


THE    MORAL    CHALLENGE  127 

tion  that  relief  may  be  secured  by  miracle.  Both 
of  these  elements  of  ecclesiastical  belief  are  flatly 
in  contradiction  to  the  principles  of  scientific  con- 
trol. The  moral  sense  of  the  modern  intelligent 
Christian  is  therefore  likely  to  be  distracted  be- 
tween the  unscientific  presuppositions  of  the  the- 
ology which  he  learns  in  the  churches  and  the 
stirring  call  of  modern  life  to  engage  in  scientific 
warfare  against  the  foes  of  social  welfare. 

Indeed,  the  larger  social  implications  of  mod- 
ern industrial  disturbances  are  not  likely  to  be 
observed  by  one  whose  training  has  been  lim- 
ited to  the  round  of  ecclesiastical  duties.  Said 
an  excellent  and  conscientious  clergyman  to  me 
once  when  there  was  in  progress  a  strike  in  the 
Chicago  stockyards,  in  which  a  singularly  un- 
selfish ideal  of  social  solidarity  was  being  pro- 
claimed by  the  strikers,  "How  much  better  it 
would  be  if  the  working  people  there  would  just 
quietly  accept  the  little  reduction  of  ten  cents 
a  day  in  their  wages  rather  than  arouse  such  un- 
christian feelings  and  stimulate  such  unchris- 
tian actions."  He  could  not  see  that  in  this 


128  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

strike  the  strong  were  attempting  to  bear  the 
burden  of  the  weak,  and  to  enable  the  poorest 
paid  workers  to  enjoy  a  fairer  share  of  the 
profits  of  the  industry.  He  was  unaware  that 
the  issue  of  ten  cents  a  day  was  as  full  of  moral 
significance  for  the  strikers  as  was  the  matter 
of  a  duty  on  tea  to  our  rebellious  forefathers  in 
Boston.  He  would  not  have  counselled  quiet 
submission  to  that  tea  tax  in  order  to  avoid  un- 
christian feelings  and  actions.  But  in  the  case 
of  this  modern  instance  of  economic  maladjust- 
ment, his  ethical  training  was  insufficient  to  en- 
able him  to  sympathize  with  the  real  motives 
of  the  strikers.  They  were  thinking,  not  of  sav- 
ing individual  souls  for  another  world,  but  of 
saving  standards  of  living  here  and  now.  They 
were  engaged  in  the  attempt  to  make  possible 
for  themselves  and  for  their  fellow  workers 
some  of  the  personal  virtues  which  were  eco- 
nomically impossible  under  existing  circum- 
stances. 

This  new  moral  enthusiasm  for  the  human  at- 
tempt to  devise  an  efficient  way  in  which  the 


THE    MORAL    CHALLENGE  129 

circumstances  of  life  may  be  so  controlled  as  to 
make  possible  higher  standards  is  likely  to  en- 
gender impatience  with  the  non-resisting  type 
of  conscience  represented  by  the  above-men- 
tioned clergyman.  Professor  James,  in  his  little 
volume  on  Pragmatism,  cites  an  extreme  ex- 
ample of  this  impatience  in  a  violent  attack  on 
religion  uttered  by  Morrison  I.  Swift.  After  re- 
lating the  circumstances  of  several  distressing 
instances  of  tragedy  because  workingmen  could 
not  cope  with  the  social  and  industrial  hin- 
drances to  wholesome  living  for  themselves  and 
their  families,  Swift  comments  on  a  peculiarly 
dreadful  incident  as  follows : 

"This  Cleveland  workingman,  killing  his  children 
and  himself,  is  one  of  the  elemental  stupendous  facts 
of  the  modern  world,  and  of  this  universe.  It  cannot 
be  glozed  over  or  minimized  away  by  all  the  treatises 
on  God,  and  Love,  and  Being,  helplessly  existing  in 
their  monumental  vacuity.  This  is  one  of  the  simple 
irreducible  elements  of  this  world's  life  after  millions 
of  years  of  opportunity  and  twenty  centuries  of  Christ. 
It  is  in  the  mental  world  what  atoms  or  sub-atoms  are 
in  the  physical — primary,  indestructible.  And  what  it 
blazons  to  man  is  the  imposture  of  all  philosophy 
which  does  not  see  in  such  events  the  consummate 


130  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

factor  of  all  conscious  experience.  These  facts  in- 
vincibly prove  religion  a  nullity.  Man  will  not  give 
religion  two  thousand  centuries  or  twenty  centuries 
more  to  try  itself  and  waste  human  life.  Its  time  is 
up;  its  probation  is  ended;  its  own  record  ends  it. 
Mankind  has  not  aeons  and  eternities  to  spare  for  try- 
ing out  discredited  systems." 

However  exaggerated  the  menace  in  such  an 
arraignment  may  be,  it  cannot  be  overlooked. 
Is  it  not  true  that  for  twenty  centuries  Chris- 
tian faith  has  inculcated  so  exclusive  a  depend- 
ence on  divine  favor,  and  has  been  so  completely 
interested  in  the  fate  of  man  in  the  other  world 
that  it  has  failed  to  give  due  religious  value  to 
the  part  which  man  may  take  in  the  improvement 
of  conditions  of  life  in  this  world?  Is  it  pre- 
pared to  appreciate  the  program  of  men  who 
cease  to  pray  for  miracles,  and  who  rather  pray 
for  the  patience  and  the  courage  and  the  wisdom 
to  learn  how  the  evils  of  this  world  may  be  at- 
tacked and  overcome  by  weapons  forged  by  hu- 
man hands?  One  who  has  caught  a  vision  of 
humanity  engaged  in  the  cooperative  task  of 

8  Human  Submission,  Part  II,  p.  190  ff.,  quoted  in  James' 
Pragmatism,  p.  31. 


THE    MORAL   CHALLENGE  13! 

eradicating  evils  by  the  adoption  of  the  best  aid 
which  science  can  afford  feels  toward  the  pious 
program  of  the  traditional  ethics  very  much  as  a 
man  would  feel  if  he  had  left  his  house  in  charge 
of  some  good  saint  who,  when  a  fire  broke  out, 
fell  on  her  knees  and  prayed  to  God  for  rescue 
instead  of  turning  in  the  fire  alarm.  When  the 
house  is  on  fire,  morality  demands  something 
not  mentioned  in  the  prayer  books.  When  so- 
ciety is  threatened  with  disintegration,  the  situa- 
tion demands  measures  not  outlined  in  the 
evangelistic  "plan  of  salvation." 

The  importance  of  this  modern  ideal  of  sci- 
entific control  is  beginning  to  make  itself  felt 
in  many  plans  for  religious  education.  It  is  a 
hopeful  symptom  that  so  many  churches  are  un- 
dertaking the  task  of  an  adequate  education  of 
church  members  in  the  scientific  aspects  of  the 
moral  problems  with  which  Christian  men  in 
our  age  are  concerned.  But  the  traditional  dis- 
trust of  human  ability,  and  the  inherited  feeling 
that  what  comes  by  the  pathway  of  miracle  is 
for  that  reason  more  valuable  than  that  which 


132  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

comes  by  processes  which  can  be  mastered  and 
controlled  by  man,  tend  to  prevent  a  full  recog- 
nition of  the  religious  and  moral  values  inherent 
in  the  employment  of  "secular"  means  for  the 
establishment  of  the  Kingdom.  If  Christianity 
is  not  to  be  left  behind  in  the  development  of 
this  distinctively  modern  type  of  moral  aspira- 
tion, it  must  learn  to  feel  a  genuine  moral  en- 
thusiasm for  scientific  research  and  achieve- 
ment If  the  fruits  of  a  purely  secular  adminis- 
tration of  forces  for  social  amelioration  shall 
be  greater  than  the  fruits  of  ecclesiastical  ef- 
fort, the  words  of  Jesus  himself  would  justify 
the  secular  program.  The  extent  and  the 
strength  of  the  challenge  coming  from  this  mod- 
ern ideal  of  scientific  control  are,  I  fear,  greatly 
underestimated  by  our  Christian  consciousness. 

3.  THE  CHALLENGE  DUE  TO  THE  NEW  VALUA- 
TION OF  THE  PHYSICAL  CONDITIONS  OF 
SPIRITUAL  LIFE 

It  is  only  in  modern  times  that  Christianity 
has  begun  to  appreciate  the  intimate  connection 


THE    MORAL    CHALLENGE  133 

between  physical  conditions  and  spiritual  health. 
The  note  of  asceticism  which  accompanied  the 
other-worldly  ideal  of  salvation  often  led  men 
to  feel  that  the  emaciated  hermit  was  in  a  bet- 
ter position  to  achieve  righteousness  than  was 
one  who  indulged  in  the  comforts  of  the  flesh. 
Moreover,  the  conception  of  a  "soul"  existing 
independently  of  bodily  relations  had  been  in- 
herited from  the  Greek  psychology,  and  colored 
all  interpretations  of  the  spiritual  life. 

Now  if  the  welfare  of  the  soul  depends  on 
getting  free  from  the  entanglements  of  the  flesh, 
it  is  evident  that  no  positive  moral  value  will 
be  placed  on  the  physical  aspects  of  human  ex- 
perience. The  products  of  secular  industry  must 
not  be  used  to  promote  luxury.  Indeed,  as  a 
German  scholar  has  suggested,4  the  severe 
standards  of  ascetic  piety  inculcated  by  Calvin- 
ism led  men  to  feel  that  wealth  could  not  be 
righteously  used  merely  to  promote  physical 

4 Max  Weber:  Die  protestantische  Ethik  und  der  "Geist" 
des  Kapitalismus.  Archiv  fur  Socialwissenschaft  und 
Socialpolitik,  Vols.  20  and  21. 


134  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

comfort.  Consequently  the  savings  accumulated 
by  thrift  were  naturally  invested  in  industry; 
and  capitalism  was  indirectly  furthered  by  the 
ascetic  ideals  of  Christianity. 

Nowhere  is  modern  science  bringing  greater 
innovations  than  in  the  discovery  of  intimate  re- 
lations between  physical  and  spiritual  health. 
The  moral  care  of  school  children  demands  the 
supervision  of  their  physical  condition.  Poor 
eyesight  may  be  accountable  for  apparent  indif- 
ference and  rebellion.  The  wearing  of  glasses 
may  be  more  efficacious  in  improving  the  morals 
of  a  child  than  all  the  ethical  exhortation  in  the 
world.  The  presence  of  adenoids  in  the  breath- 
ing passages  may  occasion  traits  which  would 
formerly  have  been  attributed  to  evil  character. 
Social  workers  are  discovering  that  mal-nutri- 
tion  causes  many  instances  of  delinquency,  that 
housing  conditions  are  responsible  for  the  lapse 
into  sin  of  many  a  boy  and  girl,  that  the  lack 
of  playgrounds  for  children  in  crowded  sections 
of  our  cities  puts  those  of  tender  years  into  the 
school  of  crime  which  carries  on  its  sessions  in 


THE    MORAL    CHALLENGE  135 

the  streets.  In  olden  times,  parents  used  to  ex- 
pect that  great  good  would  come  if  children  at- 
tended protracted  meetings  night  after  night, 
that  their  "souls"  might  be  saved.  Would  intel- 
ligent Christian  parents  today  countenance  any 
such  loss  of  quiet  sleep  as  is  involved  in  such  a 
program?  More  and  more  keenly  are  we  com- 
ing to  realize  that  it  is  futile  to  attempt  any  cul- 
ture of  the  soul  which  does  not  take  account  of 
bodily  conditions.5 

Modern  secular  ethics  from  the  days  of 
Hobbes  has  been  insisting  on  this  very  thing. 
To  be  sure  the  earlier  attempts  to  formulate  a 
secular  theory  of  life  were  marked  by  crude 
psychology.  But  in  selecting  happiness  as  the 
criterion  by  which  to  judge  a  thing  good  or  bad, 
the  appeal  was  made  to  the  physical  apparatus 
by  which  sensation  is  generated.  The  individu- 
alism which  marked  the  utilitarian  ethics  pre- 
vented a  complete  appreciation  of  the  point  of 

5  This  aspect  of  the  spiritual  life  has  been  admirably  ex- 
pounded by  President  King  in  his  "Rational  Living."  (New 
York,  1905.) 


136  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

view  involved.  But  the  doctrine  of  evolution 
has  led  us  to  see  how  the  physical  organization 
has  come  to  be  what  it  is  through  a  process  of 
growth  involving  at  every  stage  a  relation  be- 
tween the  inner  life  and  its  environment.  Thus 
the  physical  universe  has  been  laid  under  tribute 
for  countless  aeons  in  the  production  of  the 
vehicle  of  human  life.  The  proper  use  of  our 
inherited  powers  must  involve  an  appreciation 
of  this  biological  basis  of  our  ideals  and  achieve- 
ments. 

Now  so  long  as  the  problem  of  creating  a 
good  life  was  conceived  in  terms  of  a  "soul" 
which  could  by  the  exercise  of  will  and  by  the 
miracle  of  divine  grace  be  transformed  into  an 
independent  center  of  righteous  activity,  with- 
out regard  to  physical  or  social  surroundings, 
the  task  of  Christianity  was  comparatively  sim- 
ple. To  bring  the  soul  face  to  face  with  cer- 
tain doctrines  of  salvation,  and  to  urge  the  spir- 
itual self-surrender  which  would  secure  the 
grace  of  God,  constituted  the  main  duty  of  those 
who  felt  responsible  for  the  welfare  of  others. 


THE   MORAL   CHALLENGE  137 

It  is  still  the  underlying  philosophy  of  great  pub- 
lic revivals  which  bring  people  together  regard- 
less of  their  physical  and  social  environment, 
and  preach  a  gospel  largely  dissociated  from  any 
specific  physical  conditions  of  life. 

If,  however,  we  realize  the  intimate  connec- 
tion between  the  soul  and  the  body,  we  shall  not 
be  content  with  the  "purely  spiritual"  efforts 
which  Christianity  has  made  in  the  past.  Ex- 
actly as  the  schools  have  been  compelled  to  em- 
ploy medical  examination  of  children  and  to  in- 
troduce regular  inspection  of  buildings  and  occu- 
pants in  order  to  secure  the  best  mental  life  of 
the  pupils,  so  the  church  cannot  hope  to  help  any 
man  adequately  unless  to  the  spiritual  appeal  is 
coupled  the  purpose  to  make  environment  con- 
tribute helpfully  and  not  disastrously.  The  im- 
portance of  environment  is  recognized  by  the 
Catholic  church  when  it  insists  on  removing  the 
members  of  monasteries  and  convents  from  the 
"world."  It  is  informally  recognized  by  every 
wise  pastor,  who  is  compelled  to  deal  with  the 
evil-producing  elements  in  the  community  where 


138  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

his  people  live.  But  the  inherited  conception  of 
salvation  as  an  escape  from  the  "flesh"  and  the 
"world"  has  meant  a  failure  to  include  an  ade- 
quate estimate  of  the  importance  of  these  in  the 
formation  of  character.  There  is  rapidly 
spreading  in  our  day  a  philosophy  which  is  in 
part  a  revolt  from  this  one-sided  emphasis.  A 
widely  accepted  popular  movement  is  organized 
frankly  on  the  theory  that  morality  is  only  the 
natural  consequence  of  economic  conditions. 
The  gospel  of  this  modern  economic-social  re- 
ligion proclaims  that  entire  attention  shall  be 
given  to  physical  problems.  Improve  the  eco- 
nomic status  of  men,  it  is  declared,  and  you  will 
automatically  eliminate  the  ills  and  the  sins  of 
men.  There  is  just  enough  truth  in  such  a 
philosophy  to  give  it  a  plausible  standing. 

When  we  have  recognized  that  physical  ele- 
ments enter  positively  into  the  making  of  spir- 
itual life,  we  have  greatly  enlarged  the  realm 
of  ethical  and  religious  endeavor.  The  "purely 
spiritual"  conversion  of  a  soul  without  regard 
to  bodily  conditions  may  be  accomplished  with- 


THE    MORAL    CHALLENGE  139 

out  much  expenditure  of  money.  But  a  plenti- 
ful food  supply  makes  financial  demands.  Cor- 
rection of  physical  defects  may  require  surgical 
operations  which  are  expensive.  Oculists  and 
throat  specialists  and  experts  in  nervous  disor- 
ders cannot  be  provided  without  money.  To 
give  to  every  person  in  a  great  city  proper  hous- 
ing and  recreation  and  education  and  sanitation 
would  cost  enormously.  In  short,  the  financial 
resources  of  our  day,  staggering  as  they  are 
when  counted  up,  are  none  too  great  for  the 
problems  before  us  which  a  modern  religion 
must  solve  if  it  is  to  be  true  to  its  mission. 

This  means  a  new  attitude  toward  the  ac- 
quirement of  wealth.  Instead  of  regarding  it  as 
a  snare  to  the  soul,  the  modern  spirit  regards  it 
as  the  indispensable  means  of  securing  the  high- 
est life.  We  cannot  have  too  much  wealth  for 
our  welfare,  provided  it  is  used  with  a  Chris- 
tian spirit.  Saint  Francis,  with  his  vow  of  pov- 
erty, is  a  wholesome  rebuke  to  self-indulgence, 
it  is  true;  and  such  rebukes  will  always  be 
needed.  But  the  modern  mind  would  prefer  to 


I4O  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

do  homage  to  a  Jane  Addams  directing  the  ex- 
penditure of  a  few  billion  dollars  with  which  to 
reconstruct  our  slums  and  to  provide  medical 
ministry  and  recreational  opportunities  for  the 
children  who  now  are  aged  before  their  youth 
is  over. 

Even  more  than  the  benevolent  expenditure  of 
money  is  essential.  The  disposal  of  wealth  can- 
not be  detached  from  the  way  in  which  it  is 
accumulated.  To  defraud  men  and  women  of 
their  rightful  opportunities  to  achieve  for  them- 
selves the  things  needful  for  a  wholesome  life, 
and  then  to  attempt  to  supply  these  needs  by 
some  form  of  charity  or  benevolence,  is  a  dis- 
tinctly immoral  proceeding.  The  traditional 
ethical  precepts  of  Christianity  have  had  to  do 
mainly  with  the  charitable  and  patronizing  uses 
of  money.  To  become  rich  was  a  suspicious 
matter  anyway;  and  the  rich  man  was  urged  to 
satisfy  his  conscience  by  conferring  unearned 
benefits  upon  the  unfortunate.  The  classic  pre- 
cepts of  Christianity  were  formulated  purely 
from  the  point  of  view  of  the  individual  who 


THE    MORAL   CHALLENGE  14! 

was  tempted  by  the  possession  of  wealth  to  in- 
dulge in  the  sin  of  avarice.  The  objective  as- 
pects of  the  industrial  life  as  a  normal  and 
necessary  expression  of  moral  activity  were  not 
adequately  apprehended.  If  a  man  had  op- 
pressed others  in  the  acquiring  of  his  property, 
the  church  provided  a  way  in  which  the  indi- 
vidual might  make  his  peace  with  God;  but  it 
did  not  feel  called  upon  to  do  more  than  to 
warn  against  the  dangers  to  the  individual  soul 
in  the  pursuit  of  riches. 

We  are  today  seeing  the  dawn  of  a  new  con- 
ception of  the  significance  of  the  industrial  en- 
terprises of  mankind.  No  longer  do  we  exclude 
from  the  list  of  positively  valuable  undertak- 
ings the  manifold  forms  of  business  so  essential 
to  our  welfare.  Our  modern  ideals  are  too  in- 
timately bound  up  with  the  success  of  these  un- 
dertakings to  allow  us  to  take  consistently  the 
mediaeval  attitude,  unless  we  were  to  have  the 
courage  to  return  to  the  mediaeval  economic 
status.  Increasingly  we  are  seeing  that  a  man's 
activities  are  the  most  important  means  of  de- 


142  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

veloping  his  moral  attitude.  If,  in  the  process 
of  producing  the  material  goods  which  we  need, 
those  who  contribute  to  the  production  of  any 
commodity  are  compelled  to  labor  under  condi- 
tions which  blight  the  soul,  and  leave  the  moral 
and  spiritual  impulses  deadened,  the  modern 
spirit  calls  loudly  for  reform.  If  to  the  blight- 
ing influence  of  the  work  itself  there  is  added 
the  sense  of  injustice  on  the  part  of  those  who 
are  employed  in  the  industry,  we  have  a  situa- 
tion full  of  moral  menace. 

It  is  a  matter  of  common  observation  that  it 
is  quite  possible  for  a  business  layman  whose 
vision  has  not  been  enlarged  by  the  social  point 
of  view  to  be  a  devoted  church  member,  and 
conscientiously  endeavor  to  follow  the  precepts 
of  Jesus  without  developing  that  moral  sensi- 
tiveness to  the  social  problem  which  is  impera- 
tive. For  Jesus  lived  in  a  world  where  there 
were  no  such  industrial  enterprises  as  those 
which  cause  us  such  serious  concern.  The 
working  people  to  whom  he  addressed  himself 
were  not  factory  employees;  nor  were  the  cap- 


THE    MORAL    CHALLENGE  143 

italists  of  his  day  confronted  with  the  complex- 
ity of  our  modern  commercial  world.  The 
"master  and  servant"  relation  was  taken  for 
granted  as  the  normal  and  right  basis  of  employ- 
ment. Paul  even  sent  a  runaway  slave  back  to 
his  master.  The  employer  who  reads  his  New 
Testament  in  a  literalistic  way  will  inevitably 
define  his  Christian  duty  in  terms  of  the  class 
spirit  which  underlay  the  industrial  system  in  the 
time  of  Jesus.  His  righteousness  will  be  likely 
to  express  itself  in  benevolent  schemes  of  wel- 
fare work  and  charity  which  he  plans  and  as  a 
patron  administers  for  the  benefit  of  his  em- 
ployees, without  engaging  their  moral  coopera- 
tion at  all.  Meanwhile,  fundamental  questions 
like  the  rights  of  laboring  men  to  organize  for 
their  interests,  or  the  moral  supervision  of  the 
conditions  under  which  men  are  asked  to  labor — 
just  because  such  questions  lie  outside  of  the 
more  primitive  realm  of  industrial  conditions 
reflected  in  the  Bible — may  not  be  brought  defi- 
nitely to  the  conscience  of  the  Christian  manu- 
facturer by  any  distinctly  religious  reading  or 


144  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

reflection.  Perhaps  nowhere  is  the  influence  of 
traditionalism  more  harmful  than  here.  To 
hark  back  to  times  of  primitive  industry  for  our 
models  of  social  duty  in  an  age  of  steam  and  of 
highly  organized  business  can  bring  only  ca- 
lamity. 

The  challenge  of  the  modern  world  in  this 
realm  is  reflected  in  the  industrial  unrest  which 
finds  expression  among  the  toilers  and  which 
leads  them  increasingly  to  put  their  trust  in 
purely  secular  means  for  improving  their  situa- 
tion. It  is  clear  to  all  who  intelligently  ob- 
serve the  course  of  events  that  the  coming  gen- 
eration is  going  to  insist  on  radical  changes  in 
the  ethics  of  industry.  The  era  of  laissez-faire 
is  over  in  the  minds  of  all  except  those  who  are 
hopelessly  ignorant  of  the  plain  facts  of  recent 
history.  The  great  question  of  the  future  is  as 
to  how  the  new  ethics  shall  be  put  into  practice. 
The  tremendous  agitation  now  going  on  in  the 
direction  of  an  appeal  to  external  and  non- 
religious  reconstructive  efforts  is  ominous.  Does 
it  mean  that  mankind  has  become  so  convinced 


THE    MORAL    CHALLENGE  145 

of  the  impotence  of  inner  spiritual  forces  that 
it  is  willing  to  trust  its  case  to  external  reorgani- 
zation? Are  legislative  changes  the  only  means 
to  be  employed  to  bring  in  the  new  era?  Are 
men  to  acquiesce  in  a  program  which  encour- 
ages individuals  to  be  passive  under  the  benevo- 
lence of  government  as  they  have  formerly  been 
passive  under  the  aristocratic  patronage  of  the 
rich  ?  Or  is  there  to  be  developed  an  inner  spirit 
of  moral  heroism  which  shall  make  of  legisla- 
tion only  the  expression  of  great  ethical  convic- 
tions in  the  hearts  of  men?  And  if  this  inner 
spirit  of  independent  heroism  is  developed,  shall 
the  churches  have  a  prominent  part  in  the  re- 
ligious renaissance?  Or  is  it  to  be  the  flowering 
of  a  religion  born  purely  out  of  the  immediate 
demands  of  modern  life,  and  losing  all  contact 
with  the  rich  spiritual  inheritance  which  Chris- 
tianity has  preserved  for  us? 

Such  a  survey  of  the  great  movements  of 
thought  and  enterprise  in  our  day  should  con- 
vince us  that  a  spiritual  opportunity  of  excep- 


146  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

tional  magnitude  lies  before  the  present  genera- 
tion. We  are  just  awaking  to  the  full  signifi- 
cance of  the  interpretations  of  the  world  which 
have  been  worked  out  during  the  past  three  or 
four  centuries.  We  are  ceasing  to  feel  that  we 
are  aliens  and  pilgrims  on  this  earth.  We  are 
rather  planning  definitely  to  shape  and  alter  it 
so  as  to  constitute  it  the  permanent  home  for 
mankind.  We  are  sure  that  for  countless  gen- 
erations this  world  is  to  be  the  place  where  hu- 
man lives  are  to  encounter  their  spiritual  fate. 
We  have  just  become  aware  of  the  tremendous 
resources  put  into  our  hands  for  controlling  the 
conditions  of  life  by  the  use  of  scientific 
methods.  We  are  beginning  to  realize  that 
those  physical  elements  which  the  mediaeval 
mind  distrusted  as  detrimental  to  the  spiritual 
life  may  as  a  matter  of  fact  be  made  to  serve 
and  to  strengthen  religious  and  moral  aspira- 
tions and  achievements.  We  are  rapidly  com- 
ing to  see  that  wealth,  which  is  indeed  a  snare 
to  the  soul  so  long  as  one  has  only  an  individu- 
alistic philosophy  of  life,  is  nevertheless  an  in- 


THE    MORAL    CHALLENGE  147 

dispensable  means  for  compelling  nature  to  yield 
her  resources  to  the  upbuilding  of  social  and  per- 
sonal health. 

One  who  comes  to  realize  the  import  of  all 
this  will  feel  the  imperative  necessity  for  incor- 
porating into  the  Christianity  of  the  future  these 
very  ideals  which  are  proving  themselves  so  in- 
evitable and  so  beneficial.  There  is  a  latent 
moral  and  religious  power  in  this  secular-social 
conception  of  a  better  future  for  men  on  this 
earth  which  has  yet  to  be  revealed  to  our  think- 
ing. Something  of  the  enthusiasm  which  ac- 
companied the  eschatological  dream  of  the 
miraculous  coming  of  the  Kingdom  may  be 
aroused  as  we  become  acquainted  with  the  mar- 
vels within  our  reach  if  we  engage  Nature  to 
work  for  spiritual  ends. 

Now  the  theology  which  has  been  transmitted 
to  us,  and  which  has  entered  into  our  rituals, 
our  religious  education,  and  our  evangelistic  ef- 
forts was  framed  in  a  decadent  age,  when  no 
moral  enthusiasm  could  be  derived  from  the 
actual  outlook.  Augustinianism  took  shape  in 


148  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

the  days  of  the  decline  of  ancient  culture.  If 
men  were  to  rise  to  the  heights  of  religious 
achievement,  they  were  compelled  to  leave  behind 
the  world,  which  furnished  too  little  opportunity 
for  the  abounding  spiritual  life  engendered  by 
Christianity.  Nothing  less  than  the  glories  of 
the  heavenly  realm  could  satisfy  the  lofty  ideals 
of  those  who  had  been  transformed  by  the  grace 
of  God. 

But  lo!  this  world  has  taken  on  a  different 
aspect  since  men  have  become  accustomed  to 
the  use  of  exact  methods  of  observation  and 
have  become  acquainted  with  the  possibilities 
open  before  us  in  the  coming  centuries.  The 
early  Christians  kept  their  hope  and  loyalty 
alive  by  "looking  for  a  new  heaven  and  a  new 
earth,  in  which  dwelleth  righteousness."  For 
centuries  men  looked  and  prayed  that  this  new 
earth  might  descend  by  miracle  from  the  heav- 
ens. But  the  promise  was  fulfilled  in  a  way 
which  no  one  foresaw.  Quietly  and  without  ob- 
servation the  new  heavens  took  shape  in  the 
thoughts  of  men.  When  Copernicus  discovered 


THE   MORAL    CHALLENGE  149 

that  the  earth  on  which  we  dwell  is  actually 
floating  in  the  heavens,  as  truly  as  are  the  stars 
which  men  had  formerly  regarded  as  the  abode 
of  angels,  he  opened  a  new  vista  before  our 
eyes.  For  if  each  day  we  are  in  the  heavens 
from  which  was  expected  the  revelation  of  God's 
truth  and  God's  righteousness,  we  need  not  wait 
for  the  miracle  of  the  great  final  catastrophe  be- 
fore we  can  enjoy  the  heavenly  blessings.  If 
we  are  here  and  now  in  God's  heavens,  we  may 
at  once  discover  what  eye  hath  not  seen  nor 
ear  heard.  Humble,  honest  observation  of  the 
facts  close  at  hand  will  disclose  the  secrets  of 
the  Almighty. 

It  has  taken  a  long  time  to  realize  the  positive 
significance  of  this  "Copernican  Revolution." 
But  little  by  little,  as  men  have  employed  the 
same  scientific  spirit  which  led  Copernicus  to 
his  epoch-making  discovery,  the  gates  leading  to 
the  divine  mysteries  have  one  by  one  been  un- 
locked. Today  we  take  for  granted  marvels 
which  would  have  seemed  incredible  to  those 
who  lived  in  the  age  of  miracles.  In  former 


I5O  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

days  it  was  counted  a  notable  wonder  that  a 
few  thousand  Israelites  should  be  enabled  to 
cross  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Jordan  River.  To- 
day in  New  York,  bridges  and  tunnels  carry 
hundreds  of  thousands  every  day  from  one 
shore  to  another.  The  story  of  the  swimming 
of  an  iron  axe  head  upon  the  water  was  re- 
corded as  a  special  dispensation  of  Providence. 
But  what  shall  we  say  of  the  great  floating  pal- 
aces of  steel  which  now  carry  thousands  of  hu- 
man beings  in  comfort  and  in  safety  from  one 
continent  to  another!  The  scientific  achieve- 
ments of  our  day  which  we  enjoy  as  a  matter 
of  course  are  marvels  so  tremendous  that  they 
make  the  petty  miracles  of  olden  times  seem  like 
child's  play.  Indeed,  one  of  our  favorite 
themes  is  to  rehearse  the  "miracles  of  modern 
science."  When  a  few  years  ago  the  steamship 
"Republic"  was  rammed  in  a  dense  fog,  and  all 
on  board  were  in  peril,  the  wireless  telegraph 
summoned  help,  and  the  submarine  telephone  en- 
abled the  rescuing  ships  to  steer  in  the  right  di- 
rection. Preachers  everywhere  pointed  to  that 


THE    MORAL   CHALLENGE  151 

achievement  as  a  "modern  miracle."  But  it  was 
really  better  than  a  miracle.  If  it  had  been 
such  a  unique  provision  as  is  implied  in  a  mira- 
cle, men  could  indeed  marvel;  but  when  the 
next  emergency  arose  they  could  only  wait  pas- 
sively, hoping  and  praying  for  another  inter- 
vention. As  it  is,  every  ship  may  have  at  its 
disposal  the  same  means  for  summoning  aid  in 
time  of  distress.  The  "Titanic"  no  less  than  the 
"Republic"  made  known  her  troubles  to  sur- 
rounding vessels.  We  can  count  upon  the  serv- 
ice of  the  marvels  of  modern  science  as  men 
never  could  count  upon  miracles  of  old.  And 
yet,  greater  and  more  regular  as  is  the  aid  of 
scientific  invention,  we  do  not  account  for  it  by 
assuming  any  contravention  of  the  processes  of 
nature.  The  God  who  must  be  worshipped  by 
the  believer  in  modern  science  does  not  dis- 
tribute his  favors  in  arbitrary  ways,  but  gives 
freely  to  all  who  will  avail  themselves  of 
the  blessings  of  the  resources  of  the  universe 
which  is  so  full  of  wonders. 

But    the    traditional    theology    has    anchored 


152  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

our  faith  and  our  ethical  motives  to  the  philoso- 
phy underlying  that  ancient  world  which  was 
so  poor  in  "natural"  resources  that  it  was  com- 
pelled to  seek  special  wonders  in  order  to  sat- 
isfy its  needs.  The  revelation  of  God  and  the 
power  of  God  to  help  were  located  primarily 
in  unique  interventions.  The  Bible  was  valued 
because  it  was  believed  to  have  come  into  ex- 
istence by  a  method  of  inspiration  which  no 
other  literature  could  claim.  The  salvation  of 
one's  soul  was  believed  to  be  possible  only  as 
divine  grace  was  imparted  in  the  unique  super- 
natural efficacy  of  the  sacraments.  The  out- 
come of  salvation  could  not  find  worthy  expres- 
sion in  this  wretched  world,  but  must  demand 
the  withdrawal  of  man  from  attachment  to  the 
things  of  sense.  The  God  defined  in  the  mediae- 
val theology,  in  spite  of  the  high-sounding  at- 
tributes attached  to  his  name,  was  a  being  the 
exercise  of  whose  power  was,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  miracles,  limited  to  the  meagre 
possibilities  which  a  pre-scientific  age  discovered. 
Christian  sentiment  has  been  slow  to  realize  that 


THE    MORAL   CHALLENGE  153 

our  modern  "natural"  world  is  actually  richer 
in  possibilities  than  was  the  "supernatural" 
world  of  traditional  religious  thinking.  What 
is  supremely  demanded  is  such  an  interpretation 
of  the  wonderful  universe  in  which  we  live  as 
shall  enable  religious  faith  to  make  positive  use 
of  the  resources  which  are  at  hand  in  such 
abundance. 

Modern  science  has  unbound  the  sleeping 
giant  of  physical  power.  We  have  in  our  hands 
incalculable  energy.  We  are  attaining  the  sci- 
entific capacity  to  turn  this  energy  into  channels 
which  shall  achieve  our  ends.  What  shall  those 
ends  be?  Shall  the  immense  wealth  of  our  cit- 
ies be  so  organized  that  a  race  of  men  shall 
result  physically  and  spiritually  weaker  than 
their  fathers?  Shall  the  splendid  virtues  of  a 
sterner  age  give  way  to  self-indulgence  and 
luxury?  Nothing  can  prevent  mankind  from 
sinking  beneath  the  tremendous  temptations  due 
to  modern  wealth  and  power  save  the  creation 
of  a  strong  religious  life  which  shall  lead  us 
to  consecrate  our  control  over  nature  to  the 


154  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

process  of  bringing  in  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
But  such  a  religious  life  is  possible  only  as  a 
religious  interpretation  shall  be  given  to  this 
new  world  of  our  modern  life  and  thought.  To 
restrict  our  contact  with  God  to  a  few  isolated 
points  of  history  means  to  perpetuate  a  religion 
far  too  small  to  give  triumphant  power  over 
our  richer  and  larger  relations  to  the  infinite 
possibilities  open  to  us.  It  is  imperative  that 
we  should  correlate  our  religious  thinking  with 
the  immensity  of  the  issue  before  us. 

Beneath  the  stirrings  and  seethings  of  modern 
unrest,  one  discerns  dimly  the  outlines  of  a  re- 
ligion which  shall  trust  in  the  larger  future  in- 
stead of  being  bound  literally  to  the  past;  which 
shall  glory  in  the  capacity  of  man  to  use  God's 
resources  to  remake  this  world  instead  of  in- 
culcating a  passive  dependence  on  supernatural 
forces  which  lie  out  of  man's  reach;  which  shall 
develop  scientific  control  into  a  mighty  instru- 
ment for  the  welfare  of  man  instead  of  utter- 
ing warnings  against  the  ''dangers"  of  scientific 
theories.  Shall  that  religion  of  the  future  be 


THE    MORAL    CHALLENGE  155 

Christianity?  Or  shall  we  who  believe  in  the 
transforming  power  of  the  religion  of  Jesus 
allow  the  leadership  to  pass  out  of  our  hands? 
One  who  really  understands  the  inner  nature  of 
our  religion,  which  owes  its  moral  strength  to 
the  forward-looking  eagerness  of  the  Hebrew 
prophets  and  the  early  Christian  missionaries, 
which  has  shown  itself  capable  of  so  many 
changes  in  form  in  order  to  maintain  its  spir- 
itual supremacy,  and  which  finds  its  supreme 
justification  in  the  Master's  call  to  the  great- 
ness of  ministry,  can  but  feel  confident  that 
when  the  modern  situation  once  becomes  plain 
there  will  arise  a  moral  passion  which  will  not 
be  stilled  until  there  shall  be  formulated  a  the- 
ology which  will  lend  stability  and  power  to 
the  moral  forces  engendered  by  the  new  age. 
The  moral  vision  is  already  becoming  clear. 
The  intellectual  understanding  of  the  new  age  is 
being  completed.  The  religious  interpretation 
of  the  new  insight  must  speedily  follow  if 
Christianity  is  to  fulfil  its  destiny. 


IV 

THE  ETHICAL  BASIS  OF  RELIGIOUS 
ASSURANCE 

RELIGION  lives  not  by  the  splendor  of  its  or- 
ganization or  the  logical  perfection  of  its  doc- 
trinal system,  but  rather  by  its  power  to  con- 
vince the  heart.  Without  the  assurance  that 
religion  actually  brings  men  into  vital  contact 
with  divine  help,  the  most  perfect  system  would 
die.  A  theology  which  does  not  evoke  this 
sense  of  confidence  is  at  best  a  mere  scholastic 
bit  of  formalism.  No  theologian  has  any  de- 
sire to  continue  to  work  over  the  details  of  a 
system  which  has  lost  its  power  to  convince. 

We  have  seen  that  the  theology  which  was 
developed  by  the  exigencies  of  the  growing 
church  in  the  first  centuries  of  our  era  sought 
to  bring  assurance  to  men  by  affirming  the  su- 
pernatural source  and  the  supernatural  author- 

156 


RELIGIOUS   ASSURANCE  157 

ity  of  the  doctrines  which  were  ecclesiastically 
approved.  The  resources  of  this  present  world 
did  not  seem  adequate  to  secure  the  blessings 
which  it  was  believed  God  was  ready  to  bestow 
on  his  children.  Therefore,  religious  hopes  were 
anchored  in  that  other  world  out  of  which  was 
to  come  deliverance.  The  precious  items  of  re- 
ligious belief  and  practice  were  valued  on  the 
ground  that  they  originated  through  a  special 
providential  dispensation.  It  was  held  that  all 
the  knowledge  which  we  need  for  our  salvation 
had  been  furnished  to  us  in  an  exactly  located 
and  defined  revelation.  The  divine  help  which  we 
crave  had  been  provided  in  the  specific  redemp- 
tive plan  of  God,  which  is  made  effective  by  the 
divinely  authorized  sacraments.  The  fears  of 
men  were  stilled  and  their  confidence  estab- 
lished by  the  affirmation  of  the  divine  authority 
of  the  doctrines  and  the  means  of  grace  in  which 
they  put  their  trust.  Thus  ecclesiastical  Chris- 
tianity worked  out  a  strong,  consistent,  easily 
understood  and  eminently  practicable  way  of  en- 
abling men  to  realize  the  presence  of  God. 


158  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

But  our  previous  discussion  has  served  to 
make  it  clear  that,  strong  and  splendid  as  is  this 
ecclesiastical  system,  it  nevertheless  has  not 
been  able  to  retain  its  dominion  over  the  vigor- 
ous movements  of  our  distinctively  modern  life. 
As  increasing  knowledge  of  the  world  in  which 
we  live  has  revealed  larger  resources  than  were 
suspected  in  earlier  ages,  there  has  grown  up 
an  increasing  confidence  in  the  moral  value 
of  the  truth  disclosed  by  scientific  research.  But 
the  ecclesiastical  temper,  accustomed  to  think  of 
all  virtue  as  included  in  the  church,  was  naturally 
distrustful  of  any  movement  which  subtracted 
from  the  total  influence  of  the  church.  Thus 
there  came  into  existence  that  prolonged  war- 
fare between  the  new  science  and  the  old  theol- 
ogy which  has  caused  such  perplexity  and  has 
wrought  such  moral  confusion. 

In  our  analysis  of  some  of  the  prominent 
traits  of  our  modern  life,  we  tried  to  show  that 
there  is  in  these  modern  movements  a  latent 
ethical  and  religious  significance  which  is  not 
clearly  recognized  because  of  our  somewhat  ex- 


RELIGIOUS   ASSURANCE  159 

elusive  standards  inherited  from  the  church.  In- 
deed, such  strength  have  the  modern  ideals  de- 
veloped that  they  may  become  formidable  foes 
if  they  are  allowed  to  develop  under  the  influ- 
ence of  a  spirit  of  hostility  to  Christianity.  Yet 
such  hostility  has  been  deliberately  evoked  by 
the  attitude  of  the  church  in  the  past.  A  the- 
ological task  of  incalculable  importance  is  that 
of  bringing  to  light  the  latent  religious  values 
of  those  aspects  of  modern  life  which  hold  us 
so  strongly  in  their  grasp,  but  which  we  have 
not  been  accustomed  to  interpret  in  a  religious 
fashion.  If  this  task  is  to  be  prosecuted  in 
such  a  way  as  to  construct  a  vital  theology,  pri- 
mary attention  must  be  given  to  the  basis  of 
religious  assurance.  For,  as  has  been  said,  a 
theology  which  does  not  embody  an  appeal  to 
the  moral  conscience  of  men  is  impotent.  The 
fundamental  theme  to  engage  our  attention  must 
therefore  be  that  of  religious  assurance.  Only 
as  confidence  shall  be  felt  in  the  elements  which 
modern  history  has  made  potent  in  our  life 
can  a  theology  be  constructed  which  shall  do 


l6o  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

justice  to  the  situation.  We  must  come  to  feel 
the  value  of  an  item  of  religion  just  because  of 
its  inherent  moral  and  spiritual  character. 
Whatever  is  worthy  of  our  reverence  should 
be  revered,  no  matter  whether  it  originates 
in  an  ancient  literature  or  in  a  modern  ex- 
periment. 

Now  the  attempt  to  exalt  the  so-called  secular 
movements  of  human  history  is  likely  to  be  con- 
strued as  a  relative  depreciation  of  what  has 
been  held  to  be  exclusively  sacred.  To  suggest 
that  there  are  utterances  outside  the  Bible  quite 
as  lofty  and  significant  as  some  of  the  ideas  con- 
tained in  the  Bible  is  frequently  interpreted  to 
mean  that  the  Bible  is  no  better  than  any  other 
literature;  and  since  in  the  mind  of  the  objector 
.ill  non-biblical  literature  is  uninspired,  it  is  easy 
to  jump  to  the  unwarranted  conclusion  that  one 
who  finds  a  revelation  of  God  in  so-called  "pro- 
fane" utterances  is  "ruling  out"  the  Bible.  If, 
as  is  frequently  the  case  today,  the  supremacy 
of  Jesus  is  located  in  the  wonderful  moral  and 
religious  triumph  achieved  in  his  personal  ex- 


RELIGIOUS   ASSURANCE  l6l 

perience  rather  than  in  a  theory  of  heavenly 
origin,  the  man  who  is  trained  in  the  ecclesi- 
astical method  of  reasoning  will  miss  the  very 
items  upon  which  he  lays  most  stress,  and  will 
conclude  that  the  divinity  of  Christ  is  denied, 
because  it  is  not  explained  by  reference  to  a  dis- 
tinctly supernatural  origin.  Thus  one  who  at- 
tempts to  emphasize  the  religious  significance  of 
"natural"  and  "secular"  aspects  of  life  and 
thought  is  compelled  to  guard  himself  against 
the  suspicion  of  the  traditionalist  that  such  an 
emphasis  is  equivalent  to  a  denial  of  the  funda- 
mentals of  Christianity.  To  put  this  aspect  of 
the  theologian's  task  into  positive  form  is  im- 
possible unless  there  shall  be  engendered  a 
broader  type  of  religious  assurance,  which  is 
prepared  to  give  a  positive  estimate  to  elements 
of  experience  which  have  not  received  ecclesi- 
astical sanction,  whenever  such  elements  are  in- 
trinsically worthy  of  moral  homage.  It  is  only 
as  men  shall  be  ready  to  recognize  the  supreme 
right  of  what  is  ethically  good  to  command  their 
reverence  just  because  it  is  good  that  we  shall 


1 62  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

be  freed  from  the  narrowing  effects  of  formal- 
ism. 

In  the  following  discussion,  therefore,  it 
should  be  remembered  that  there  is  no  intention 
of  disparaging  the  splendid  achievements  of  the 
traditional  theology.  In  suggesting  modifica- 
tions in  method  and  in  emphasis,  the  purpose  is 
constructive.  Any  adverse  criticism  is  inspired 
by  the  hope  that  the  criticism  may  serve  to  re- 
veal more  clearly  the  great  religious  funda- 
mentals upon  which  our  confidence  may  rest. 
It  is  only  as  confidence  shall  be  seen  to  have 
been  founded  on  what  is  not  today  ethically  de- 
fensible that  destructive  criticism  will  be  neces- 
sary. That  there  have  been  fear  and  distress  and 
weakening  certainty  in  religious  thinking  during 
recent  years  is,  I  think,  indisputable.  The  fol- 
lowing pages  will  seek  to  suggest  such  an  un- 
derstanding of  the  causes  of  this  weakening  as- 
surance and  such  a  comprehension  of  the 
moral  nature  of  an  abiding  confidence  as  shall 
enable  us  to  see  more  clearly  what  the 
task  of  the  theologian  is  if  he  is  to  lead  the 


RELIGIOUS    ASSURANCE  163 

thoughts  and  aspirations  of  men  in  our  modern 
world. 

One  more  preliminary  word  may  not  be 
amiss.  A  remarkable  transformation  of  the- 
ology is  already  taking  place  in  response  to  the 
moral  demands  of  our  age.  Apparently,  the 
changes  which  are  being  wrought  are  coming  to 
pass  in  a  wholesome  and  gradual  fashion  so  that 
readjustments  may  be  made  without  serious  in- 
terruption of  the  activities  of  organized  Chris- 
tianity. The  purpose  of  the  exposition  which 
follows  is  not  to  impose  a  new  dogmatics  in  the 
place  of  the  old.  Indeed,  such  a  new  dogmatism, 
appealing  to  the  authority  of  "reason"  or  of 
"advanced  scholarship"  would  be  ethically  more 
intolerable  than  a  theology  appealing  to  the  more 
humanly  universal  authority  of  the  church. 
What  is  attempted  is  to  point  out  certain  ethical 
implications  of  the  transition  which  is  in  prog- 
ress, so  that  in  our  attitude  toward  changing 
doctrine  we  shall  not  be  applying  criteria  which 
can  bring  only  perplexity  and  confusion.  The 
scientific  movements  of  our  day  keep  theories 


164  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

purified  from  error  by  looking  carefully  to  the 
methods  by  which  these  theories  are  constructed. 
Results  are  always  subject  to  revision;  but  the 
revision  must  be  undertaken  by  the  use  of  an 
accurate  method  if  it  is  to  be  of  any  value.  Ex- 
actly so,  the  changes  in  theology  which  the 
theologian  is  to  influence  must  be  controlled  by 
a  clear  apprehension  of  the  methods  of  revision 
which  are  adequate. 

I.      THE  DOGMATIC  VS.  THE  SCIENTIFIC  BASIS  OF 

ASSURANCE 

Primitive  Christian  faith  was  formulated  in  a 
non-scientific  atmosphere.  Not  only  was  it  true 
that  Jesus  and  most  of  the  early  missionaries 
were  not  influenced  by  the  science  of  the  age; 
not  only  did  practical  rather  than  theoretical  in- 
terests have  first  place  in  their  religious  think- 
ing; as  we  have  seen,  a  more  important  aspect 
of  the  matter  is  the  fact  that  the  early  Chris- 
tians did  not  expect  this  world  to  continue.  The 
ultimate  values  were  to  be  found  in  the  heavenly 


RELIGIOUS   ASSURANCE  165 

Kingdom.  Under  these  circumstances,  the  facts 
and  the  principles  of  a  world  which  was  destined 
to  speedy  destruction  naturally  would  not  fur- 
nish material  for  religious  assurance.  That  cer- 
tainty must  come  primarily  from  an  unseen 
world  which  was  so  far  in  contradiction  to  this 
present  world  that,  when  the  fulness  of  time 
should  arrive,  warfare  to  the  death  was  the  only 
possible  issue.  In  the  course  of  time  the  princi- 
ples derived  from  this  heavenly  source  were  or- 
ganized into  a  theology  appealing  to  revelation 
for  its  support.  Indeed,  Tertullian  could  tri- 
umphantly declare  that  a  rational  absurdity  was 
really  a  positive  reason  for  believing  a  doctrine 
to  be  true,  if  only  it  rested  on  revelation.  Au- 
gustine was  able  on  the  basis  of  this  heavenly 
authority  to  convince  himself  of  propositions 
which  before  his  conversion  had  seemed  unrea- 
sonable. Gregory  the  Great  declared  that  there 
is  no  merit  in  believing  what  can  be  rationally 
proved;  only  when,  on  the  basis  of  authority, 
one  holds  to  be  true  something  which  his  natural 
reason  does  not  validate,  is  there  any  moral 


1 66  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

value  in  the  belief.  We  need  only  recall  how 
Luther  was  constantly  heaping  scorn  on  the 
rationalizing  efforts  of  the  schoolmen,  and  how 
generally  evangelical  preaching  even  in  our  own 
day  is  suspicious  of  science,  if  not  hostile  to  it,  to 
see  that  for  centuries  Christian  assurance  has 
been  formally  based  on  a  non-scientific,  if  not 
an  anti-scientific  foundation. 

But  coincidently  with  the  growth  of  the  secu- 
lar interests  of  the  modern  world  there  has 
grown  up  a  secular  science,  with  a  method  of 
discovering  facts  which  has  increasingly  com- 
manded the  confidence  of  mankind.  We  have 
already  indicated  something  of  the  scope  of  this 
scientific  movement,  and  have  alluded  briefly  to 
the  attitude  of  hostility  which  has  been  engen- 
dered between  it  and  the  appeal  of  theology  to 
authority. 

If  we  analyze  this  conflict,  we  find  that  it  has 
its  source  in  two  fundamentally  different  concep- 
tions of  the  basis  of  assurance.  Theology  has 
insisted  that  its  right  to  a  hearing  lay  in  the  fact 
that  it  proclaimed  truths  from  a  higher  realm, 


RELIGIOUS   ASSURANCE  1 67 

inaccessible  to  human  reason.  The  confidence 
of  the  theologian  has  rested  on  the  belief  that 
there  have  been  given  to  man,  without  the  medi- 
ation of  inexact  and  tiresome  processes  of  ex- 
ploration, certain  absolutely  true  principles  which 
may  eternally  serve  without  change  as  the  means 
of  guiding  life  to  its  supreme  goal.  Morally 
one  is  bound  to  believe  these  principles  because 
they  are  alleged  to  have  been  declared  true  by 
divine  authority.  Confidence  is  located  in  the  in- 
fallibility and  unchangeability  of  certain  doc- 
trinal theories,  rather  than  in  a  human  method 
of  discovery.  Modern  science,  on  the  other 
hand,  proceeds  on  the  hypothesis  that  the  doc- 
trinal results  will  take  care  of  themselves,  pro- 
vided only  the  method  of  investigating  problems 
is  made  exact.  The  assurance  of  the  theologian 
has  thus  rested  on  the  possibility  of  affirming 
the  unchangeable  truth  of  certain  doctrines.  The 
assurance  of  the  scientist  rests  on  the  possibility 
of  verifying  or  of  revising  all  doctrines  by  the 
use  of  exact  methods  of  research. 

It  is  evident  that,  so  long  as  the  traditional 


l68  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

conception  of  the  nature  of  assurance  is  held, 
there  can  be  no  real  appreciation  of  the  moral 
significance  of  scientific  method.  For  the  the- 
ologian is  trained  to  estimate  the  value  of  a 
man's  work  by  asking  what  conclusions  he  has 
reached.  For  him  the  supreme  moral  duty  is  to 
hold  as  true  certain  doctrines.  Even  if  the  pre- 
scribed conclusions  are  reached  by  processes  of 
doubtful  scientific  validity,  the  fact  that  the 
proper  opinions  are  somehow  held  justifies  the 
means  by  which  they  are  attained.  From  this 
point  of  view,  the  only  question  which  is  asked 
concerning  the  work  of  a  scholar  is  whether  the 
conclusions  which  he  reaches  are  in  accordance 
with  the  revealed  truth  of  the  system.  Any  sug- 
gested alteration  of  doctrine  is  looked  upon  as 
a  proposal  to  weaken  confidence  in  the  system, 
and  therefore  to  leave  religion  less  confident 
than  before.  Thus  critical  scientific  procedure 
is  described  as  "destructive"  scholarship;  and 
any  findings  which  contradict  the  established 
theological  system  are  lightly  dismissed  as  the 
products  of  "science,  falsely  so-called." 


RELIGIOUS   ASSURANCE  169 

The  scientific  attitude,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
less  concerned  with  results  than  with  the  method 
by  which  results  have  been  reached.  A  man  of 
scientific  spirit  would  have  his  confidence  seri- 
ously shaken  if  he  noted  that  a  given  doctrine 
was  supported  by  a  method  of  investigation 
which  could  not  be  depended  on  for  accurate  re- 
sults. If,  for  example,  the  doctrine  of  trans- 
substantiation  can  be  affirmed  only  by  the  use  of 
clearly  artificial  distinctions  between  "substance" 
and  "accidents,"  the  ultimate  affirmation  of  the 
doctrine  does  not  in  the  least  reassure  him.  On 
the  contrary,  he  is  apt  to  ask  himself  whether  the 
discovery  of  so  vulnerable  a  type  of  reasoning 
in  this  case  may  not  be  symptomatic  of  danger- 
ous superficiality  throughout  the  entire  the- 
ological structure.  Thus  an  argument  which 
might  greatly  encourage  and  reassure  a  man  of 
the  traditional  theological  way  of  thinking  might 
have — indeed  would  be  likely  to  have — precisely 
the  opposite  effect  on  a  man  of  scientific  tem- 
per. It  is  startling  to  think  how  easily  unbelief 
may  be  engendered  by  some  of  the  apologetics 


I7O  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

of  our  day  which  are  intended  to  rescue  ques- 
tioning souls  from  doubt,  but  which  by  the 
superficiality  of  the  method  of  defence  serve 
actually  to  deepen  the  misgivings  of  keen  in- 
quirers. 

Now,  while  it  would  be  rash  for  any  one  to 
assert  that  the  scientific  attitude  has  taken  com- 
plete possession  of  our  age,  it  is  nevertheless 
true  that  the  definite  purpose  of  our  modern  edu- 
cation is  to  instil  this  scientific  spirit  into  our 
social  consciousness.  Indeed,  it  may  almost  be 
said  that  the  scientific  attitude  is  an  inevitable 
accompaniment  of  democracy.  For  if  we  are  to 
set  rules  for  our  own  guidance,  we  must  culti- 
vate the  most  exact  possible  methods  of  discov- 
ering the  truth.  At  any  rate,  as  our  modern 
enterprises  develop,  it  is  coming  to  be  more  and 
more  apparent  that  success  depends  on  the  mas- 
tery of  exact  scientific  principles  of  manage- 
ment. It  has  been  discovered  that  even  the  tra- 
ditional ways  of  laboring,  which  have  been 
evolved  through  the  supposedly  superior  process 
of  actual  practice,  are  not  as  efficient  as  those 


RELIGIOUS    ASSURANCE  171 

directed  by  carefully  tabulated  rules  made  up  by 
minute  and  painstaking  investigation.  In  order 
to  obtain  the  best  results,  modern  industry  must 
adopt  scientific  principles.  The  farmer  cannot 
raise  the  largest  crops  merely  by  stoutly  assert- 
ing that  American  agriculture  is  the  most  pro- 
ductive in  the  world.  Whether  it  shall  be  or 
not  depends  on  his  ceasing  to  seek  arguments  to 
uphold  a  predetermined  conclusion.  He  must 
rather  concern  himself  with  the  fruits  of  actual 
experiments.  If  his  methods  be  correct,  he  need 
not  fear  for  the  results.  If  he  has  not  acquired 
a  moral  respect  for  experimental  science,  his 
results  will  be  largely  a  matter  of  luck. 

Now  it  does  not  require  a  very  violent  shift 
of  thinking  to  see  that  what  holds  true  of  agri- 
culture holds  equally  true  of  theology.  If  sci- 
entific exactness  of  method  rather  than  rhetorical 
and  logical  skill  is  essential  to  the  best  results 
in  one  realm,  it  is  inevitable  that  the  same  atten- 
tion to  method  shall  be  seen  to  be  indispensable 
in  other  realms.  It  is  likely  that  the  increasing 
competition  of  business  and  industrial  life  will 


172  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

in  the  near  future  compel  a  very  general  appre- 
ciation of  the  importance  of  scientific  research. 
Attention  will  be  universally  directed  to  the  im- 
portance of  learning  from  careful  experimenta- 
tion. Increasing  trust  will  be  felt  in  the  use  of 
scientific  rather  than  rhetorical  means  of  produc- 
ing evidence.  When  this  spirit  of  scientific  dis- 
crimination shall  have  come  to  be  more  wide- 
spread, the  way  will  be  prepared  for  a  general 
realization  of  the  lack  of  convincing  power  of 
the  arguments  drawn  from  non-scientific  presup- 
positions. 

2.      THE  NEED  FOR  A  MORAL  VALUATION  OF  THE 

SCIENTIFIC  IDEAL 

The  scientific  spirit  is  now  coming  to  be  felt 
as  a  dominating  force  in  the  work  of  theological 
scholarship.  Men  who  are  the  leaders  of 
thought  are  actually  working  with  the  tools  of 
modern  science  rather  than  with  the  tools  of 
traditional  dialectic.  Biblical  scholars  are 
frankly  engaged  in  the  task  of  correcting  tradi- 
tional interpretations  of  the  Bible,  and  are  basing 


RELIGIOUS   ASSURANCE  173 

their  corrections  on  the  principles  of  scientific  in- 
quiry. Church  historians  are  ceasing  to  view 
the  course  of  history  as  a  predetermined  provi- 
dential plan  for  the  vindication  of  a  given  sys- 
tem of  thought  or  a  given  church  polity.  Sys- 
tematic theologians  are  making  concessions  and 
innovations  in  the  realm  of  doctrine  which 
would  have  appalled  our  fathers.  The  depart- 
ments of  practical  theology  are  elaborating 
methods  of  scientific  survey  and  theories  of  sci- 
entific control  which  make  impossible  the  sim- 
ple device  of  copying  the  New  Testament 
church.  The  scientific  ideal  is  gaining  such  con- 
trol that  it  must  be  reckoned  with  as  the  ap- 
proved method  of  formulating  conclusions  in  the 
realm  of  religious  belief. 

But  while  this  scientific  ideal  has  been  quietly 
taking  possession  of  our  best  theological  schools, 
there  has  been  little  consideration  of  the  all- 
important  question  as  to  the  effect  of  the  adop- 
tion of  this  ideal  on  religious  assurance.  It  is 
a  well-known  fact  that  men  are  staunchly  hold- 
ing to  the  older  conception  of  authority  in  the- 


174  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

ology  because  they  are  honestly  convinced  that 
the  adoption  of  the  scientific  method  must  in- 
evitably mean  a  loss  of  religious  fervor.  It 
seems  to  them  that  modern  inquiries  are  turn- 
ing all  the  older  certainties  into  question  marks. 
Indeed,  the  number  and  the  crucial  importance 
of  some  of  the  questions  which  are  thrust  in 
the  face  of  a  theological  student  today  are  some- 
what appalling,  even  to  one  who  has  adopted 
the  scientific  spirit  and  who  is  therefore  willing 
to  wait  for  the  final  answer  until  investigation 
shall  have  been  more  thoroughly  made.  To  the 
man  with  the  traditional  type  of  religious  assur- 
ance, however,  who  has  been  trained  to  feel  that 
the  eternal  stability  of  the  doctrinal  content  of 
Christianity  is  fundamental  to  its  claim  of  su- 
premacy, the  problems  which  are  being  opened 
can  but  bring  dismay  and  dreadful  forebodings. 
It  is  indeed  a  serious  thing  to  be  compelled  to 
ask  whether  the  doctrinal  formulations  which 
we  find  in  the  New  Testament  are  set  in  a  world 
view  which  is  discredited  by  modern  science; 
whether  Paul  radically  transformed  the  gospel 


RELIGIOUS   ASSURANCE  175 

of  Jesus  into  a  sacramentalism  which  we  today 
cannot  accept;  whether  there  is  any  historical 
credibility  to  be  attached  to  the  fourth  Gospel; 
whether  the  synoptic  gospels  misrepresent  the 
life  and  the  character  of  Jesus;  indeed,  whether 
any  such  person  as  the  Jesus  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment ever  lived  at  all.  These  are  surely  ques- 
tions the  very  asking  of  which  seriously  impairs 
the  older  type  of  religious  confidence.  We  can- 
not wonder  at  the  misgivings  of  many  worthy 
men  as  they  observe  this  dissipation  of  energy 
in  the  process  of  inquiry  when  they  would  like 
to  see  firm  confidence  established  in  the  truths  of 
Christianity. 

The  apparently  "destructive"  character  of  the 
inquiring  science  of  today  is  due  largely  to  the 
fact  that  often  there  does  not  appear  in  the 
patient  and  tentative  work  of  the  scientist  any 
such  religious  loyalty  as  appears  in  the  utter- 
ances of  the  man  who  is  conscious  that  he  is 
commissioned  from  on  high  to  defend  eternal 
truth.  For  example,  why  should  it  be  thought 
to  be  religiously  any  better  to  believe  that  the 


176  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

Pentateuch  was  written  by  Moses  than  to  hold 
that  it  came  into  existence  through  an  evolution 
stretching  into  post-exilic  times?    The  conserva- 
tive theologian  is  ready  with  his  answer.     He 
declares  that  there  has  been  committed  to  him 
a  sacred  tradition  to  which  it  is  a  religious  duty 
to  be  true.     In  this  loyalty  to  what  he  regards 
as  "God's  Word"  he  is  appealing  to  a  profound 
moral  motive.     It   is  this  which  gives  to  con- 
servative theological  scholarship  its  hold  on  the 
affections   of   men.      Scientific   scholarship   will 
battle  in  vain  for  the  recognition  of  its  conclu- 
sions in  the  church  so  long  as  it  is  not  able  to 
oppose    to    this    spirit    of    religious    loyalty    an 
equally  admirable  incarnation  of  moral  fidelity. 
Now  is  it  not  true  that  the  rights  of  scientific 
inquiry  have  too  generally  been  defended  on  the 
secular  and  really  irreligious  basis  of  a  theory 
of  individual  rights?     The  principles  of  ufree- 
dom  of  research"  and  of  "freedom  of  speech," 
however  important  they  may  seem  to   the  iso- 
lated scholar,  do  not  make  a  large  enough  social 
appeal  to  constitute  the  basis  of  a  widespread 


RELIGIOUS   ASSURANCE  177 

popular  moral  enthusiasm.  Why,  indeed,  should 
we  grant  to  the  theologian  freedom  to  destroy 
the  foundations  of  the  Christian  faith  any  more 
than  we  grant  to  the  anarchist  freedom  to  de- 
stroy the  foundations  of  patriotism?  The  real 
moral  value  of  scientific  method  does  not  ap- 
pear in  the  customary  formulae  by  which  aca- 
demic freedom  is  guarded.  What  Christian  peo- 
ple generally  demand,  and  rightly  demand,  is 
that  theology  shall  be  a  vehicle  for  religious  edi- 
fication. It  cannot  thus  be  employed  if  it  repre- 
sent merely  the  spirit  of  individual  freedom :  for 
there  may  be  lacking  in  such  a  spirit  the  funda- 
mental social  purpose  which  is  indispensable 
to  religious  power.  There  are  too  many  in- 
stances where  the  scientist  is  more  eager  to  attain 
a  reputation  for  daring  innovations  than  to  ren- 
der social  ministry.  It  is  true  that  it  is  the  op- 
position of  ecclesiasticism  and  of  other  estab- 
lished interests  to  freedom  of  research  which  has 
forced  scientists  to  magnify  the  importance  of 
such  freedom.  But  it  has  not  always  been  mag- 
nified in  such  a  way  as  to  disclose  the  larger  so- 


178  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

cial  purpose  which  alone  can  constitute  a  valid 
basis  for  a  public  approval. 

Indeed,  the  very  polemic  into  which  a  free 
science  is  thrust  by  ecclesiastical  opposition  has 
led  to  a  confusion  of  the  issue.  Unconsciously 
the  advocates  of  newer  ideals  have  allowed  their 
opponents  to  define  the  nature  of  the  test  of  so- 
cial efficiency  which  is  to  justify  the  existence 
of  any  movement.  It  has  for  centuries  been 
assumed  that  the  highest  efficiency  will  be  at- 
tained by  the  use  of  the  doctrines  which  have 
been  ecclesiastically  approved.  As  has  been 
shown,  assurance  has  traditionally  rested  on  the 
content  of  doctrine  rather  than  on  the  method 
of  deriving  conclusions.  Thus  the  natural  chal- 
lenge of  traditional  faith  to  newer  thought  is 
whether  the  outcome  of  criticism  serves  to  con- 
firm certain  predetermined  conclusions.  For 
example,  a  theologian  is  allowed  to  use  the  doc- 
trine of  evolution,  provided  he  can  show  that 
the  evolutionary  hypothesis  is  in  accord  with 
the  teachings  of  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis.  The 
critical  theological  scholar  is  thus  expected  to 


RELIGIOUS   ASSURANCE  179 

justify  his  work,  not  by  showing  its  truthful 
character  from  the  point  of  view  of  method,  but 
rather  by  showing  the  conformity  of  his  conclu- 
sions with  Biblical  doctrine.  The  very  nature 
of  this  test  prevents  the  modern  scholar  from 
bringing  to  the  front  the  fundamental  moral 
properties  of  his  procedure. 

Indeed,  in  so  far  as  scientific  scholarship 
yields  to  the  test  demanded  by  traditionalism,  it 
is  likely  to  be  tempted  into  paths  of  doubtful 
probity.  For  in  attempting  to  show  that  the  re- 
sults reached  are  "not  essentially  different" 
from  those  reached  by  the  method  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal control,  the  scholar  is  apt  to  give  to  his  con- 
clusions a  form  which  shall  resemble  as  closely 
as  possible  the  doctrines  which  the  traditionalist 
wishes  to  retain.  But  critical  scholarship  in- 
evitably makes  definite  modifications  in  the  realm 
of  doctrine.  In  so  far  as  these  modifications  are 
seen  to  be  offensive,  the  exposition  of  them  by 
one  who  accepts  the  ecclesiastical  challenge  is 
practically  certain  to  abound  in  skillfully  devised 
ambiguities  which  obscure  rather  than  reveal 


l8o  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

the  actual  content  of  the  theologian's  thought. 
But  if  once  the  spirit  of  intellectual  juggling  be 
admitted  into  any  procedure,  it  is  no  longer  pos- 
sible to  claim  a  moral  superiority  for  it.  The 
New  Testament  itself  reminds  us  that  the 
double-minded  man  is  unstable  in  all  his  ways. 
The  scholar  who  attempts  at  the  same  time  to 
serve  ecclesiastical  demands  and  to  maintain  sci- 
entific truthfulness  needs  to  beware  lest  the  de- 
mands of  the  two  masters  conflict  and  leave  the 
servant  in  a  situation  where  his  loyalty  to  both 
may  be  seriously  tested. 

Thus  it  is  doubtless  true  that  the  pursuit  of 
scientific  inquiry  under  the  motives  of  academic 
freedom  is  actually  a  source  of  moral  disin- 
tegration so  long  as  the  right  of  the  ecclesiastical 
ideal  is  admitted  as  the  final  test.  Any  modifica- 
tions of  the  authorized  system  will  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  ecclesiastic  be  judged  as 
examples  of  a  privileged  laxity.  And  this  laxity 
is  accepted  by  the  scholar  as  an  academic  "right" 
which  he  enjoys  under  the  charter  of  freedom  of 
research.  If  in  addition  there  be  allowed  a  spirit 


RELIGIOUS   ASSURANCE  l8l 

of  ingenious  juggling  by  which  the  newer  sci- 
ence is  made  to  yield  something  resembling  the 
older  conclusions,  the  sense  of  honor  is  inevita- 
bly dulled,  and  a  prudent  program  of  "policy" 
may  come  to  control  the  movements  of  the 
scholar.  Even  if  he  succeed  in  asserting  his 
freedom  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  scientifically  hon- 
'est,  he  is  likely  to  be  dismayed  by  would-be  anar- 
chists who  hail  him  as  the  prophet  of  a  new  era 
of  unbounded  license.  The  very  rigidity  of  the 
old-fashioned  loyalty  in  the  realm  of  doctrine  in- 
volved a  like  rigidity  in  the  realm  of  morals.  If 
dissent  from  doctrine  is  admitted  as  a  "right," 
why  is  not  dissent  from  moral  principles  equally 
a  "right"?  Thus,  by  implication,  the  critical 
spirit  may  carry  with  it  the  conception  of  an 
easy-going  individualistic  laxity  which  would 
tend  to  actual  moral  disintegration.  These  dan- 
gers which  confront  critical  scholarship  we  ought 
not  to  overlook. 

Nevertheless,  the  time  has  come  when  we 
must  recognize  that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  sci- 
entific ideal  is  coming  to  prevail  in  theological 


l82  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

schools.  Intelligent  people  know  that  "criti- 
cism" is  very  generally  taught  in  our  seminaries, 
and  that  churches  are  admitting  to  their  pulpits 
ministers  who  stand  for  the  "new"  views.  If, 
in  view  of  this  fact,  we  still  retain  the  notion 
that  Christian  loyalty  means  fundamentally  the 
defense  of  certain  doctrines,  the  inevitable  con- 
clusion in  the  minds  of  men  will  be  that  these 
seminaries  and  these  ministers  really  do  not  care 
very  much  about  loyalty;  that  they  are  indulg- 
ing themselves  in  the  pleasant  occupation  of 
making  whatever  experiments  they  choose  in  the 
field  of  religion  without  very  much  concern  over 
the  outcome;  that  they  evolve  new  theories  just 
for  the  fun  of  startling  people  and  for  the  joy 
of  indulging  in  academic  debate.  The  papal 
encyclical  against  Modernism  characteristically 
ascribes  the  work  of  the  Modernists  to  two  mo- 
tives, curiosity  and  pride.  Many  orthodox 
Protestants  likewise  feel  that  liberalism  is  domi- 
nated by  a  shallow  joy  at  stirring  up  things,  re- 
gardless of  whether  they  can  be  settled  again  or 
not.  It  is  evident  that,  so  long  as  such  opinions 


RELIGIOUS    ASSURANCE  183 

can  be  honestly  held  and  expressed,  modern 
scholarship  has  not  revealed  the  essentially  moral 
principles  of  its  procedure.  If,  at  the  same  time, 
men  know  that  our  seminaries  are  dominated  by 
the  scientific  ideal,  there  is  grave  danger  lest  a 
scholarly  interpretation  of  Christianity  shall  be 
made  more  difficult  to  commend  to  the  morally 
earnest  men  and  women  who  are  in  our 
churches. 

In  brief,  so  long  as  we  permit  the  test  of  con- 
tent of  doctrine  to  remain  supreme,  there  is 
actual  danger  of  moral  disintegration;  for  every 
scholar  and  every  minister  who  departs  from 
the  system  is,  according  to  this  hypothesis,  less 
loyal  to  the  truth  than  are  those  who  retain  the 
system  unimpaired.  Every  fresh  modification 
weakens  the  hold  of  the  system  as  such  on  the 
minds  of  men.  And  modifications  are  now  be- 
coming so  many  and  so  widely  recognized,  that 
loyalties  are  perhaps  actually  more  generally 
weakened  than  we  suspect.  Does  not  the  acquir- 
ing of  a  "liberal"  spirit  too  often  mean  that  the 
new  enlightenment  becomes  the  source  of  a  prac- 


184  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

tice  of  easy-going  self-indulgence,  so  far  as  the 
church  is  concerned?  The  right  to  reject  the 
system  easily  passes  into  the  right  to  excuse  one- 
self from  any  arduous  participation  in  the  work 
of  the  church. 

Let  us  put  the  matter  in  a  little  different  way. 
If  we  examine  the  inherited  tendencies  of  our 
religious  thinking,  we  discover  that  we  have 
been  carrying  over  into  modern  life  the  attitude 
of  mediaeval  faith.  As  we  have  seen,  for  cen- 
turies men  were  conscious  that  they  had  no  in- 
ductive method  of  discovering  for  themselves 
the  highest  truths  and  values.  They  found  in  the 
writings  of  antiquity  a  wisdom  which  they  could 
not  hope  to  attain  by  their  own  efforts.  Natu- 
rally, therefore,  they  trusted  in  the  content  of 
the  doctrine  provided  by  the  church  as  the  cus- 
todian of  ancient  truth.  The  revealed  system 
was  the  foundation  of  their  confidence.  Indeed, 
so  meagre  were  the  independent  powers  of  schol- 
arship during  the  first  thousand  years  of  Chris- 
tian history  that,  if  the  authoritative  writings  of 
antiquity  had  been  lost,  the  loss  would  have  en- 


RELIGIOUS   ASSURANCE  185 

tailed  the  total  extinction  of  culture.  We  still 
have  that  long-continued  feeling  of  absolute  de- 
pendence on  the  past  reflected  in  the  conviction 
of  many  men  that  if  the  classics  shall  not  have 
the  first  place  in  our  education  culture  will  in- 
evitably decline.  From  this  point  of  view,  our 
salvation  is  dependent  on  the  faithful  retention 
and  repetition  of  the  wisdom  of  the  ancients. 
To  hold  fast  the  "faith  once  delivered' '  is  the 
supreme  duty  because  only  in  that  "faith"  have 
we  the  highest  truth. 

Now  an  important  consequence  of  modern 
scientific  procedure  is  to  free  men  from  this 
sense  of  helpless  dependence  on  antiquity.  The 
deeds  and  theories  of  men  of  the  past  are,  in- 
deed, of  great  value;  but  they  are  not  indis- 
pensable. If  the  books  containing  the  results  of 
scientific  inquiry  should  all  be  lost,  it  would  not 
seriously  dismay  the  modern  inquirer,  provided 
only  the  capacity  to  use  scientific  method  re- 
mained. If  men  had  mastered  this  method,  they 
could  after  a  few  years  of  diligent  labor  recre- 
ate the  lost  theories,  or  perchance  even  improve 


1 86  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

on  them.  When  Newton's  dog  overturned  the 
candle  which  destroyed  his  mathematical  papers, 
the  loss  was  not  irrevocable,  simply  because 
Newton  possessed  the  method  by  which  he  could 
reconstruct  all  that  had  been  destroyed. 

Thus  while  the  mediaeval  mind  carefully 
treasured  the  finished  theories  on  which  it  was 
so  hopelessly  dependent,  the  modern  mind  is 
more  concerned  to  attain  such  a  mastery  of 
method  as  to  be  able,  if  possible,  to  improve  upon 
the  past.  This,  of  course,  does  not  mean  that  all 
value  is  denied  to  the  past ;  on  the  contrary,  since 
the  perfection  of  science  depends  on  the  largest 
possible  social  cooperation,  we  can  never  have 
too  much  of  the  recorded  results  of  other  men's 
thinking.  But  the  use  which  is  made  of  these 
past  products  of  thought  is  very  different  from 
that  made  by  the  mediaeval  mind.  The  scientist 
obtains  stimulus  and  help  from  them,  but  he  feels 
that  he  is  nearest  the  truth  not  when  he  regards 
them  as  finally  authoritative,  but  when  he  finds 
them  of  service  in  opening  his  own  eyes.  He 
sees  that  any  theory  expresses  only  in  part  and 


RELIGIOUS   ASSURANCE  187 

only  imperfectly  the  truth  which  mankind  seeks. 
It  is  the  reality  lying  back  of  all  formulations 
which  he  seeks  to  understand,  and  which  de- 
mands constant  revision  of  working  hypotheses. 
The  man  who  has  attained  the  scientific  attitude 
is  not  afraid  of  the  "destruction"  of  anything. 
He  does  not  fear  lest  culture  will  vanish  if  the 
study  of  Greek  be  no  longer  required  of  every 
boy  in  college.  He  is  not  dismayed  when  more 
careful  investigations  of  the  properties  of  mat- 
ter disclose  the  inadequacy  of  the  older  atomic 
theory.  He  never  thinks  of  demanding  that  a 
new  hypothesis  shall  be  proved  to  conform  to  tra- 
ditional doctrines  before  it  shall  be  allowed  to 
prevail.  He  has  attained  a  basis  of  trust  which 
leads  him  to  look  forward  with  confidence,  and 
which  gives  to  transformations  and  revisions  a 
positive  value.  The  man  of  scientific  spirit  can 
live  through  changes  of  thought  without  pertur- 
bation, and  can  calmly  make  use  of  all  tenable 
suggestions  to  enlarge  the  borders  of  his  knowl- 
edge. Criticism  is  never  "destructive"  for  him. 
It  means  rather  the  constructive  process  by  which 


1 88  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

the  borders  of  our  knowledge  are  steadily  en- 
larged. 

It  is  high  time  that  we  should  realize  the 
steadying  power  of  this  newer  type  of  assur- 
ance. It  makes  possible  a  change  of  theory 
without  any  serious  disturbance  of  positive  faith. 
It  preserves  one  from  panic,  because  of  the  be- 
lief that  critical  examination  of  facts  and  re- 
vision of  theory  are  normal  ways  of  making 
progress.  There  cannot  be  a  wholesome  revision 
of  theology  so  long  as  the  older  type  of  religious 
assurance  is  insisted  upon.  For  a  theology 
which  tries  at  the  same  time  to  preserve  confi- 
dence in  a  finished  system  and  to  make  use  of 
scientific  methods  is  hopelessly  divided  against 
itself.  The  retention  of  the  older  sort  of  assur- 
ance means  that  whenever  scientific  truthfulness 
compels  a  departure  from  the  system,  that  de- 
parture is  apologized  for  in  such  a  way  as  to 
destroy  the  moral  value  of  the  change.  It  is 
viewed  as  an  unwelcome  "concession"  rather 
than  as  a  positive  means  of  improving  our 
status,  The  attempt  is  made  to  anchor  faith  to 


RELIGIOUS   ASSURANCE  189 

that  portion  of  the  field  which  does  not  need 
any  new  interpretation  rather  than  to  the  total 
knowledge  which  we  possess.  Such  a  division 
of  the  territory  of  experience  is  unfortunate.  A 
vigorous  religion  must  possess  all  of  life;  but 
this  is  impossible  so  long  as  science  is  regarded 
as  irreligious.  Not  until  there  shall  be  a  re- 
ligious trust  in  the  truth-seeking  quality  of  crit- 
ical procedure  can  we  advance  to  a  theology 
which  shall  be  inspired  by  the  spirit  of  eager 
moral  courage.  "Mediating"  theologies  have 
doubtless  served  a  useful  purpose  in  gaining  a 
hearing  for  the  discoveries  of  modern  science; 
but  the  time  has  come  when  they  are  likely  to  be 
so  evidently  embarrassed  by  the  attempt  to  re- 
tain two  such  different  conceptions  of  the  proper 
basis  of  assurance  as  to  lack  that  straight- 
forward sincerity  which  alone  can  give  moral 
power. 


IQO  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

3.      THE      CONTRIBUTION      OF      THE      HISTORICAL 
METHOD  OF   STUDYING  RELIGION 

The  shift  of  emphasis  from  the  traditional  to 
the  scientific  basis  is  not  so  difficult  today  as  it 
would  have  been  a  century  ago.  Indeed,  so  little 
was  the  religious  consciousness  of  the  eighteenth 
century  prepared  for  the  shift,  that  the  scientific 
expositions  of  that  age  aimed  at  producing  a 
new  "absolute"  religion  of  reason.  The  older 
rationalism  had  not  really  mastered  the  moral 
implications  of  the  scientific  point  of  view.  To 
hold  to  God,  freedom,  immortality  as  undeniable 
dogmas  of  reason  seemed  necessary. 

But  the  adoption  of  the  historical  spirit  in  the 
study  of  religion  has  freed  us  from  the  rational- 
istic dogmatism  of  the  eighteenth  century  as 
well  as  from  the  ecclesiastical  dogmatism  of 
earlier  times.  It  has  brought  into  our  conscious- 
ness the  real  relation  between  doctrine  and  life, 
between  theory  and  experienced  reality.  It  has 
brought  to  light  the  fact,  which  was  not  formerly 
appreciated,  that  doctrines  are  constantly  chang- 


RELIGIOUS    ASSURANCE 

ing  in  form  or  in  interpretation  as  the  experi- 
ences of  men  change.  The  progress  of  biblical 
criticism  has  made  it  possible  to  see  the  process 
by  which  the  religious  ideas  of  Israel  changed 
during  the  centuries  of  religious  experimenta- 
tion covered  by  the  literature  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. We  are  beginning  to  seek  such  an  ac- 
count of  the  New  Testament  doctrine  as  shall 
show  the  genetic  relations  between  the  various 
stages  of  development.  We  are  thus  becoming 
accustomed  to  the  thought  that  the  vitality  of 
the  biblical  theology  is  due  to  the  fact  that  it 
was  wrought  out  by  arduous  experiment,  in 
which  searching  questions  were  asked  and  an- 
swers were  found  with  the  help  of  all  the  re- 
sources at  the  command  of  the  leaders  of 
thought.  The  moral  quality  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment utterances  is  due  to  the  fact  that  they  rep- 
resent attempts  to  meet  the  stern  realities  of  He- 
brew national  and  social  life  squarely  and  to  dis- 
cover the  religious  significance  of  contemporary 
events.  In  so  far  as  we  find  in  the  Bible  the 
record  of  a  less  direct  type  of  thinking — i.  e., 


192  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

in  so  far  as  we  find  traditionalism — we  discover 
a  theology  which  was  denounced  by  the  prophets 
and  by  Jesus  and  by  Paul,  and  which  possesses 
no  power  to  awaken  our  own  religious  assur- 
ance. The  historical  study  of  the  Bible,  em- 
bodying as  it  does  the  scientific  spirit  and 
method,  serves  to  reveal  the  fact  that  those  con- 
victions which  possess  the  most  power  over  us 
were  wrought  out  in  a  way  not  incompatible 
with  the  scientific  spirit  of  today.  In  giving  a 
historical  valuation  of  biblical  material,  we  in- 
evitably take  as  our  test  the  actual  social  effi- 
ciency of  the  doctrines  in  their  age  rather  than 
their  conformity  or  non-conformity  to  a  previ- 
ously fixed  system.  Thus  we  are  becoming  ac- 
customed to  a  point  of  view  which  enables  us 
to  use  the  biblical  material  precisely  as  the  sci- 
entific scholar  uses  any  documents  of  the  past  in 
his  field.  The  way  is  splendidly  prepared  by 
modern  biblical  scholarship  for  that  transforma- 
tion of  the  conception  of  religious  assurance 
which  is  now  imperative.  The  men  of  the  Bible 
had  to  test  doctrines  by  their  actual  out- 


RELIGIOUS   ASSURANCE  193 

come  in  experience.  Their  test  was  in  later  the- 
ology supplanted  by  a  formal  appeal  to  author- 
ity. To  restore  the  actual  test  which  entered 
into  the  making  of  biblical  doctrines  is  the  nat- 
ural outcome  of  a  better  historical  understand- 
ing of  the  Bible.  Jeremiah  reversed  the  teach- 
ing of  Isaiah  concerning  the  fate  of  the  temple 
at  Jerusalem  because  in  Jeremiah's  day  condi- 
tions had  so  changed  that  the  test  of  experience 
demanded  a  revision  of  Isaiah's  theology.  Paul 
eliminated  circumcision  from  the  requirements 
of  gentile  Christianity,  not  because  he  found  any 
written  command  to  that  effect,  but  because  the 
religious  welfare  of  the  gentile  world  demanded 
it.  When  once  it  is  clearly  seen  that  we  have  in 
the  Bible  a  changing  theology  to  meet  the  chang- 
;  ing  needs  of  men  we  may  readily  gain  confi- 
dence in  a  theology  which  does  not  profess 
finality  or  infallibility. 

But  the  moral  effect  of  this  historical  point 
of  view  is  largely  obscured  by  the  retention  of 
ideals  of  exegesis  which  belonged  to  the  dog- 
matic method  of  exposition.  The  theory  that 


194  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

in  the  Bible  we  have  a  compendium  of  ethical 
and  religious  commands  in  final  and  perfect 
form  dies  hard.  It  is  becoming  clear  that  the 
retention  of  this  conception  is  responsible  for 
much  moral  blindness  in  contemporary  Chris- 
tianity. Some  of  our  most  pressing  modern 
problems  arise  out  of  circumstances  which  did 
not  exist  in  the  time  of  the  apostles.  The  duty 
of  a  master  to  his  slave  is  very  different  from 
the  duty  of  a  modern  employer  toward  a  free 
citizen  whom  he  employs.  The  benevolent 
patronage  of  the  master  toward  the  slave  is  felt 
by  a  freeman  to  be  lacking  in  true  moral  per- 
spective, and  it  thus  becomes  an  insult  to  a  man's 
sense  of  self-respect.  So,  too,  the  stern  denun- 
ciation of  all  worldly  attachments,  which  was 
natural  in  an  age  which  looked  for  the  speedy 
destruction  of  this  world,  seems  out  of  place  in 
an  evolutionary  view.  But  these  and  other  dif- 
ferences between  ancient  and  modern  ideals  are 
obscured  by  a  harmonizing  exegesis  which  pre- 
vents issues  from  appearing  in  their  clear  light. 
Do  not  our  theologies  and  our  Sunday-school 


RELIGIOUS   ASSURANCE  195 

quarterlies  often  contain  the  sort  of  special  plead- 
ing for  which  we  denounce  lawyers  and  politi- 
cians? We  consider  it  a  practice  of  doubtful 
moral  quality  when  a  corporation  employs  a  law- 
yer to  evade  the  meaning  of  the  law  by  a  tech- 
nical interpretation  which  will  give  the  desired 
liberty  under  the  guise  of  legal  conformity.  Yet 
in  the  next  breath  we  may  praise  the  theologian 
who  has  the  dexterity  to  show  that  the  first  chap- 
ter of  Genesis,  when  "rightly  interpreted,"  will 
yield  a  modern  cosmology;  or  we  may  feel  very 
comfortable  if  it  can  be  ingeniously  made  out 
that  the  precise  type  of  church  polity  which  we 
prefer  was  authorized  by  Jesus  himself.  It 
would  mean  a  distinct  clearing  of  the  moral  at- 
mosphere if  we  should  adopt  that  attitude  toward 
the  Bible  and  toward  the  history  of  Christianity 
which  is  made  imperative  by  historical  study, 
and  admit  the  inevitable  historical  limitations  of 
any  particular  theological  doctrine.  To  expound 
honestly  a  biblical  doctrine  is  the  best  possible 
preparation  for  the  honest  facing  of  the  prob- 
lems of  our  own  day. 


196  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

The  reason  why  Christian  teachers  and 
preachers  are  so  hesitant  about  the  new  attitude 
is  to  be  found  partly  in  the  fear  that  such  a  posi- 
tion would  be  taken  to  mean  the  discrediting  of 
the  Bible.  It  is  often  assumed  that  the  new  po- 
sition is  less  eager  than  the  old  to  preserve  that 
religious  power  which  the  knowledge  of  the  Bible 
is  instrumental  in  producing.  It  is  to  be  hoped, 
however,  that  the  days  of  ignorance  which  are 
responsible  for  such  an  inference  are  numbered. 
The  accurate  knowledge  of  the  Bible  itself 
should  reveal  the  fact  that  nothing  is  more  un- 
biblical  than  to  refuse  to  face  the  facts.  Does 
not  the  message  of  the  great  prophets  owe  its 
power  to  this  facing  of  the  facts  in  defiance  of 
tradition?  Did  not  Jesus  always  insist  that 
moral  and  religious  conclusions  should  rest  on  a 
truthful  estimate  of  the  situation  confronting  a 
man  rather  than  on  the  rules  formulated  in  the 
traditions  of  the  scribes?  Did  not  Paul,  because 
of  the  new  situation  which  he  met  in  the  gentile 
world,  revise  the  Christianity  of  the  primitive 
church?  It  is  high  time  to  emphasize  the  real 


RELIGIOUS   ASSURANCE  197 

significance  of  this  splendidly  moral  spirit  of  the 
greatest  of  the  biblical  characters,  and  to  deliver 
men  from  the  unfounded  fear  lest  we  shall  be 
dishonoring  the  Bible  by  adopting  the  very  atti- 
tude of  moral  sincerity  which  constitutes  its 
greatness.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  influence 
of  the  Bible  should  be  opposed  to  the  influence  of 
scientific  inquiry.  There  is  every  reason  why 
they  should  work  in  harmony. 

Such  a  harmony  is  established  by  the  his- 
torical interpretation  of  the  Bible.  Indeed,  when 
the  biblical  literature  is  thus  read,  it  becomes  a 
vast  social  historical  laboratory  where  we  may 
trace  the  processes  by  which  a  supremely  moral 
theology  came  to  prevail.  When  one  has  mas- 
tered this  field  by  the  use  of  the  historical 
method,  one  has  already  acquired  the  kind  of 
confidence  which  belongs  to  scientific  method. 
One  finds  that  the  magnificent  utterances  of  that 
literature — so  high  and  noble  that  they  stand  as 
the  supreme  expression  of  an  ethical  religion — 
were  produced  by  the  persistent  experimentation 
of  men  in  their  endeavor  to  discover  the  will  of 


198  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

God.  The  attitude  of  the  great  prophets  is  not 
at  all  inconsistent  with  the  method  of  scientific 
procedure  today.  They  found  men  satisfied  with 
a  traditional  cultus.  But  they  faced  the  ugly 
facts  of  social  life  in  their  day,  and  asked  what 
could  be  learned  from  a  truthful  survey  of  those 
facts.  To  be  sure  their  means  of  diagnosis  were 
not  identical  with  those  of  our  day.  But  their 
attitude  toward  the  problems  which  needed  solu- 
tion was  such  that  it  compels  the  admiration  of 
every  man  who  is  searching  for  the  truth.  In- 
deed, we  might  almost  formulate  their  method 
in  terms  which  modern  science  could  accept,  if 
we  were  to  say  that  insight  into  the  facts  before 
us  is  a  more  direct  and  certain  way  of  arriving 
at  the  truth  than  is  the  mere  repetition  of  a 
solution  formulated  in  the  past.  Just  as  the  sci- 
entist would  be  able  to  recreate  the  content  of 
his  science  even  if  all  existing  text-books  were 
swept  away,  so  the  prophets  of  Israel  would 
have  been  able  to  set  forth  religious  beliefs  in 
cogent  form  even  if  the  content  of  tradition  had 
been  lacking  in  exact  doctrinal  form.  They 


RELIGIOUS   ASSURANCE  1 99 

were  possessed  of  such  insight  that  they  knew 
that  God  spoke  to  them  directly  in  the  facts 
with  their  moral  challenge.  The  power  with 
which  Jesus  compelled  the  experience  of  men  to 
furnish  answers  to  religious  questions  is  con- 
spicuous in  the  great  parables. 

Thus  the  direct  outcome  of  the  historical 
study  of  the  Bible  is  the  acquiring  of  a  trust  in 
that  attitude  of  open-minded  inquiry  which  is  at 
the  same  time  characteristic  of  the  great  biblical 
characters  and  of  the  modern  scientific  mind.  It 
is  this  attitude  which  is  even  more  important 
than  the  doctrinal  results  attained  by  critical 
study,  significant  as  these  are.  The  great  con- 
structive outcome  of  modern  biblical  study  is 
not  to  furnish  the  theologian  with  a  new  set  of 
authoritative  dogmas,  but  rather  to  indicate  the 
fact  that  the  historic  genesis  of  doctrines  can 
be  traced  by  scientific  means,  so  as  to  make  sci- 
entific method  a  positive  element  in  the  study  of 
religion.  Biblical  criticism  makes  it  possible  for 
us  to  see  how  doctrines  have  their  rise,  why  they 
change,  what  changes  are  for  the  better  and 


2OO  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

what  for  the  worse,  and  what  the  place  of 
formal  belief  is  in  the  total  religious  life  of  men. 
Tradition  thus  becomes  a  servant  of  the  present 
and  not  its  despot.  If  it  becomes  evident  that 
changed  conditions  of  modern  experience  re- 
quire a  changed  emphasis  or  a  changed  interpre- 
tation, the  theologian  in  making  the  necessary 
alterations  may  learn  from  the  prophets  and  the 
apostles  the  spirit  of  reverence  and  loyalty  which 
is  indispensable  to  actual  constructive  work. 
The  power  of  the  message  of  Jeremiah  lies  pre- 
cisely in  the  fact  that  he  did  not  attempt  to  keep 
unchanged  the  theology  of  his  day.  Yet,  in  the 
very  changes  which  he  proposed,  he  felt  that  he 
was  more  loyal  to  God  than  were  his  opponents. 
There  is  still  altogether  too  much  of  the  older 
feeling  that  the  result  of  biblical  study  should  be 
to  establish  an  absolutely  true  and  unchanging 
system  of  theology.  Critical  scholarship  is  con- 
stantly being  urged  to  give  the  "assured  results" 
of  modern  investigation,  the  implication  being 
that  a  new  authoritative  dogmatics  may  be  es- 
tablished to  supplant  the  older.  Indeed,  many  a 


RELIGIOUS   ASSURANCE  2OI 

man  is  excusing  himself  from  bothering  about 
critical  scholarship  at  all  until  he  can  feel  that 
the  critics  are  "agreed"  as  to  content  of  doc- 
trine. In  so  far  as  this  attitude  is  maintained, 
the  entire  moral  significance  of  the  critical 
method  is  lost.  For  this  would  leave  men  still 
dependent  on  a  guaranteed  content  of  theology 
rather  than  on  a  reliable  method  of  ascertaining 
the  meaning  of  religion.  No  one  who  really  un- 
derstands the  nature  of  biblical  criticism  can 
have  any  desire  to  see  a  new  set  of  "critically 
established"  dogmas  come  to  exercise  authority 
in  the  place  of  the  "orthodox"  dogmas.  A  new 
theology  of  this  dogmatic  sort  would  not  really 
mark  much  advance.  It  is  far  more  imperative 
to  attain  a  new  attitude  toward  religious  beliefs 
and  a  new  method  of  constructing  satisfactory 
formulations  of  the  great  convictions  of  the  hu- 
man heart.  Indeed,  the  critical  attitude  may 
make  one  actually  more  appreciative  of  the  con- 
tent of  the  older  theology.  When  one  really 
understands  the  cost  in  fidelity  and  in  moral 
'earnestness  of  some  of  the  great  doctrines  of 


2O2  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

the  church,  one  will  come  to  think  of  them  not 
merely  as  formal  doctrines,  but  as  the  reposi- 
tories of  deep  spiritual  achievements  which  must 
forever  command  our  reverence.  To  get  back 
of  the  "absoluteness"  of  doctrines  as  such  and 
to  learn  to  find  in  them  the  great  spiritual  as- 
pirations and  struggles  and  triumphs  of  noble 
men  of  old  must  give  a  new  significance  to  theol- 
ogy. At  the  same  time  such  appreciation  makes 
us  eager  to  secure  in  our  day  and  generation  a 
vigorous  life  expressing  itself  in  suitable  doc- 
trines rather  than  to  preserve  the  "form  of  sound 
words." 

Thus  the  historical  understanding  of  the  Bible 
brings  into  the  religious  thinking  of  our  day  a 
keener  insight  into  the  human  problems  which 
found  their  solution  in  the  biblical  doctrines. 
The  experience  of  biblical  men  and  the  char- 
acteristics of  biblical  social  life  become  more  in- 
teresting and  more  significant  than  are  mere  doc- 
trines as  such.  This  new  appreciation  harmon- 
izes admirably  with  the  modern  spirit  of  social 
analysis,  which  is  responsible  for  the  moral  chal- 


RELIGIOUS   ASSURANCE  2O3 

lenge  of  our  day.  If  there  can  enter  into  Chris- 
tian theology  this  confidence  in  the  outcome  of  a 
direct  investigation  into  the  facts  of  life,  the 
way  will  be  open  for  such  a  cooperation  between 
the  awakened  social  spirit  and  the  work  of  the 
theologian  that  our  religion  will  be  immensely 
strengthened  both  in  the  theologian's  sense  of  in- 
ner confidence  and  in  its  value  for  leaders  in 
the  modern  task  of  social  regeneration.  When 
once  theology  can  feel  the  moral  courage  which 
comes  inevitably  from  the  scientific  attitude,  and 
can  throw  off  the  terrible  burden  of  cautious 
ambiguities  due  to  "mediating"  systems  and 
"harmonizing"  exegesis,  when  theology  shall 
be  confident,  as  all  other  sciences  are  confident, 
that  the  strongest  possible  guaranty  of  the  re- 
liability of  a  certain  position  is  the  fact  that 
it  has  been  reached  by  accurate  and  truthful  ob- 
servation and  induction,  then  we  may  look  for 
an  era  of  new  power;  then  we  may  expect  to 
see  Christian  convictions  again  standing  fore- 
most in  the  moral  conflict,  instead  of  needing  to 
be  "conserved"  by  the  watch-care  of  the  church 


2O4  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

and  the  ingenuity  of  apologists.  The  acquire- 
ment of  such  an  attitude  of  confidence  is  not 
difficult.  We  need  only  courageously  to  follow 
to  its  legitimate  conclusion  the  method  now  em- 
ployed in  critical  biblical  study,  and  to  correlate 
our  religious  beliefs  to  the  sense  of  assurance 
engendered  by  the  use  of  the  scientific  method. 


V 

THE  ETHICAL  TRANSFORMATION  OF 
THEOLOGY 

WE  have  finally  to  inquire  what  will  be  the  re- 
sults if  we  make  a  thorough-going  use  of  the 
principles  which  have  been  elucidated.  What 
changes  in  doctrinal  emphasis  and  in  the  con- 
tent of  theology  may  be  expected  if  the  the- 
ologian take  it  for  granted  that  his  task  is  not 
to  reproduce  an  authorized  system,  but  rather 
to  meet  the  moral  challenge  of  his  day  by  em- 
ploying the  method  of  critical  investigation 
which  is  so  characteristic  of  our  modern  culture? 

It  will  have  been  evident  from  the  foregoing 
discussion  that  the  ethical  principles  of  the  tra- 
ditional theology  were  essentially  aristocratic. 
That  theology  was  worked  out  in  days  when 
men  were  conscious  that  human  institutions  and 
activities  were  hostile  to  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
The  secular  powers  seemed  to  be  in  the  hands 

205 


2O6  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

of  those  who  had  ideals  incompatible  with  the 
splendid  dreams  of  righteousness  inherited  from 
the  prophets  of  Israel  and  reinforced  by  the 
teachings  of  Jesus  and  of  his  disciples.  It  was 
natural,  therefore,  that  the  appeal  of  religion 
should  be  away  from  the  powers  of  this  world 
to  a  heavenly  tribunal.  Since  the  ways  of  God 
were  not  the  ways  of  men,  nor  his  thoughts  their 
thoughts,  a  dualism  between  worldly  principles 
and  the  principles  of  the  Kingdom  was  presup- 
posed in  all  theological  thinking.  The  ideals  of 
the  Kingdom  were  to  be  defended  because  of 
their  divine  rights  rather  than  simply  because 
of  their  compatibility  with  earthly  life.  The 
Christian  who  accepted  the  plan  of  salvation 
could  be  rescued  from  the  evils  of  this  life  and 
made  a  citizen  of  the  heavenly  kingdom.  From 
this  vantage  ground,  he  could  look  down  on  the 
ethics  of  the  world,  and  could  speak  to  his  fel- 
low men  with  the  authority  of  one  who  shares 
the  divine  rights  belonging  to  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven.  This  note  of  authority  is  an  inalien- 
able element  in  the  older  theology. 


ETHICAL   TRANSFORMATION  2O/ 

Such  a  dualism  involves  the  formulation  of 
theology  in  terms  of  aristocratic  privilege.  The 
members  of  the  church  are  by  virtue  of  the  fact 
of  such  membership  raised  above  their  un- 
churched brethren,  and  can  look  upon  these  lat- 
ter as  unfortunates.  The  "goodness"  of  those 
in  the  church  is  not  so  much  a  personal  achieve- 
ment on  their  part  as  it  is  a  gift  of  divine  grace. 
Christians  become  "heirs"  of  a  spiritual  estate 
which  they  themselves  did  not  create.  Their  sal- 
vation is  a  "gift"  from  God.  Man  in  his  natural 
state  is  an  outcast,  when  judged  by  the  stand- 
ards of  the  church,  for  he  has  not  yet  been  initi- 
ated into  the  select  circle  of  God's  elect.  For 
such  a  man  to  take  pride  in  his  own  moral 
achievements  was  a  mark  of  unfitness  for  the 
Kingdom.  One  must  rather  confess  his  utter 
worthlessness  and  his  total  inability  to  live  the 
life  demanded  by  the  authoritative  standards. 
The  way  of  salvation  lay  through  the  humble 
acceptance  of  the  grace  furnished  through  the 
plan  of  salvation. 

This  disparity  between  "natural"   efforts  on 


2O8  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

the  part  of  man  and  the  "supernatural"  means 
of  salvation  made  it  inevitable  that  the  crucial 
points  in  a  theological  system  should  be  the 
miracles  by  which  the  limitations  of  natural  ca- 
pacity should  be  transcended.  Men  were  deliv- 
ered from  despair  by  the  possibility  of  trust  in 
the  miracle-working  church  with  its  means  of 
grace.  The  church  assured  them  of  a  miracu- 
lous revelation  from  heaven  on  the  basis  of 
which  the  validity  of  the  details  of  revealed 
religion  could  be  asserted.  The  church  fur- 
nished the  ritual  through  which  baptismal  re- 
generation might  transform  a  son  of  Adam  into 
a  citizen  of  the  Kingdom.  In  the  church 
one  found  the  perpetual  miracle  of  transubstan- 
tiation,  which  enabled  men  to  come  into  the 
actual  presence  of  the  divine  substance  of 
Christ's  redeeming  flesh  and  blood.  At  shrines 
miraculous  deliverance  from  sickness  could  be 
attained  through  the  efficacy  of  relics.  And 
back  of  all  the  present  miraculous  aid  furnished 
through  the  church  stood  the  vision  of  the  great 
second  advent  when  the  powers  of  this  world 


ETHICAL    TRANSFORMATION  2OQ 

were  to  be  brought  to  an  end  by  the  irresistible 
might  of  the  heavenly  King.  These  are  essen- 
tials of  Catholic  theology.  Without  them  the 
system  would  be  hopelessly  disintegrated,  no 
matter  how  great  might  be  the  stress  on  moral 
and  social  interests. 

Protestantism  inherited  from  Catholicism  this 
same  emphasis  on  miracle  as  the  essential  thing 
in  a  theological  interpretation  of  life.  To  be 
sure,  the  Catholic  doctrine  of  the  church  was 
radically  modified;  but  this  only  meant  a  more 
rigid  doctrine  of  the  supernatural  character  of 
the  Bible  as  the  sole  divine  authority.  The  con- 
ception of  "natural"  man  as  corrupt  and  un- 
worthy, the  belief  in  the  necessity  of  a 
miraculous  transformation  through  regeneration, 
the  representation  of  Christian  goodness  as 
something  bestowed  upon  one  from  a  higher 
realm  rather  than  as  something  worked  out 
from  within,  and  the  retention  of  the  eschat- 
ological  view  of  history  all  marked  Prot- 
estantism. 

I  do  not  mean  to  imply  that  this  conception 


2IO  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

of  theology  made  it  unethical.  On  the  contrary, 
so  long  as  men  did  their  thinking  in  terms  of 
aristocratic  distinctions,  a  theology  which  repre- 
sented the  relations  between  God  and  man  in 
aristocratic  terms  would  seem  profoundly  moral. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  history  of  Calvinism  is 
ample  proof  of  the  deep  moral  vitality  which 
may  spring  from  precisely  this  conception  of 
theology.  Wherever  men  today  do  their  think- 
ing in  terms  of  class  distinctions,  the  orthodox 
theology  almost  always  is  retained  in  its  full 
vigor.  The  "upper  classes"  in  Europe  and  the 
peasantry  are  loyal  supporters  of  the  state 
churches.  Whenever  it  seems  morally  admirable 
for  a  member  of  one  social  order  to  exercise 
benevolent  patronage  toward  his  inferiors,  and 
wherever  it  is  possible  for  a  humbler  man  to  ac- 
cept gratefully  benefits  from  above  without  any 
sense  of  personal  indignity,  aristocratic  ethics 
will,  of  course,  prevail.  But  when  democracy 
advances  so  far  as  to  call  in  question  the  moral 
right  of  the  older  class  distinctions,  the  ethics  of 
aristocracy  is  sure  to  be  challenged.  In  so  far  as 


ETHICAL   TRANSFORMATION  211 

theology  embodies  aristocratic  principles,  it,  too, 
meets  with  adverse  criticism. 

Now  the  total  effect  of  those  movements  of 
thought  and  of  social  activity  which  make  up 
what  we  call  the  modern  world  is  to  turn  atten- 
tion to  the  resources  of  this  world,  and  to  dis- 
cover moral  values  in  the  immanent  processes 
of  human  evolution.  The  intellectual  correlative 
of  this  modern  democratic  movement  is  the  de- 
velopment of  scientific  method  as  a  tool  which 
may  be  freely  used  by  any  one  to  ascertain  the 
truth  and  to  further  one's  welfare.  The  moral 
objection  to  miracle  on  the  part  of  science  lies 
in  the  fact  that  miracle  removes  the  control  of 
the  miraculous  event  from  human  hands,  and 
makes  men  dependent  on  the  unrestrained  will 
of  a  superior  being.  Thus  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, which  saw  the  great  revolt  of  democracy 
against  the  arbitrary  rights  of  political  sover- 
eigns, witnessed  also  the  revolt  against  mira- 
cles; for  these  represented  the  same  sort  of  arbi- 
trary rights  in  the  realm  of  religion.  In  the  de- 
velopment of  politics,  the  older  aristocratic 


212  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

philosophy  has  almost  entirely  vanished.  The 
powers  of  government  are  now  admittedly  re- 
ferred to  immanent  sources  of  authority.  The 
ruler  may  retain  his  right  to  rule  only  so  long 
as  he  cooperates  with  the  people  in  the  social 
task  of  promoting  the  total  welfare.  In  the 
realm  of  religion,  however,  the  traditional  prin- 
ciples of  established  authority  have  delayed  the 
process  of  transformation.  Consequently,  we 
have  had  attempts  to  mediate  between  the  old 
and  the  new  in  the  hope  of  doing  justice  to  the 
moral  demands  of  the  present  without  impair- 
ing the  authority  of  the  established  system. 

Nevertheless,  one  who  compares  the  the- 
ological treatises  of  today  with  those  of  a  cen- 
tury or  more  ago  cannot  fail  to  be  struck  with 
the  very  considerable  modifications  which  have 
been  made  at  the  behest  of  this  democratic  ideal. 
Miracles  have  gradually  declined  in  importance 
until  today  it  is  almost  universally  true  that  in- 
stead of  being  the  main  supports  to  faith  they 
require  defense  themselves.  In  other  words,  we 
are  coming  more  and  more  to  feel  that  the  best 


ETHICAL   TRANSFORMATION  213 

credentials  for  religious  faith  are  to  be  found  in 
the  service  which  is  rendered  to  humanity  in 
ways  which  humanity  can  understand  and  by 
methods  in  which  humanity  can  have  a  share, 
rather  than  in  superhuman  claims.  If  we  look 
at  the  actual  development  of  religious  life,  we 
witness  several  significant  ways  in  which  Chris- 
tian experience  has  detached  itself  from  the 
former  supernatural  interpretation  of  ritual  or 
creed,  and  has  adopted,  or  is  in  the  process  of 
developing,  interpretations  which  embody  the 
immanent  emphasis  of  democratic  moral  ideals. 
Merely  to  rehearse  the  list  of  such  modifications 
will  reveal  the  fact  that  this  ethical  transforma- 
tion of  theology  is  farther  advanced  than  many 
of  us  had  supposed. 

Take,  for  example,  baptism.  In  mediaeval 
theology  its  significance  was  found  in  the  fact 
that  it  was  the  channel  through  which  the  re- 
generating grace  of  God  found  entrance  into  the 
human  soul  so  as  to  effect  the  great  transforma- 
tion of  the  "natural"  man  into  a  "saved"  man. 
But  in  Protestant  churches,  the  tendency  has 


214  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

been  steadily  in  the  direction  of  a  repudiation  of 
the  doctrine  of  sacramental  grace  in  its  Catholic 
form.  For  Luther,  baptism  became  primarily 
the  seal  of  God's  promise,  deriving  its  value  from 
the  fact  that  in  it  God's  ethical  consistency  was 
affirmed.  Some  Protestant  bodies  have  regarded 
baptism  primarily  as  a  symbol  of  a  moral  trans- 
formation which  may  take  place  prior  to  baptism. 
Enlightened  Protestants  of  the  Reformed  branch 
of  the  church  would  today  scarcely  argue  that 
baptism  is  essential  to  salvation.  The  marks  of 
Christian  character  are  sought  in  the  actual 
ethical  and  religious  life  of  a  man  rather  than  in 
his  having  received  baptismal  grace.  This  does 
not  mean  that  baptism  ceases  to  be  of  value.  It 
is  retained  as  a  genuine  element  in  Christianity 
by  practically  all  Protestant  denominations. 
But  the  interpretation  given  to  it  is  quite  differ- 
ent from  that  furnished  by  the  mediaeval  church. 
Its  retention  is  increasingly  coming  to  be  justi- 
fied by  the  positive  part  which  it  plays  in  the  de- 
velopment of  an  ethical  life  under  the  inspira- 
tion of  a  vital  faith  rather  than  by  appeal  to 


ETHICAL   TRANSFORMATION  215 

authoritative  "rights."  If  historical  research 
should  show  that  the  older  theories  of  the  origin 
of  baptism  are  not  tenable,  so  that  the  appeal  to 
its  authoritative  institution  by  Christ  would  be 
felt  to  lack  cogent  evidence,  such  a  conclusion, 
which  would  be  fatal  to  the  traditional  interpre- 
tation, would  not  necessarily  affect  the  ethical 
interpretation  which  is  becoming  increasingly 
common.  If  baptism  actually  helps  to  make  men 
conscious  of  the  redeeming  power  of  God,  if  it 
actually  serves  to  deepen  in  the  consciousness  of 
the  Christian  the  assurance  of  God's  presence, 
its  right  in  Christianity  is  sufficiently  vindicated. 
A  similar  development  may  be  traced  in  the 
case  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  For  mediaeval  the- 
ology it  was  essentially  the  vehicle  of  a  miracu- 
lous substance  with  life-giving  power.  But  it  is 
not  an  uncommon  thing  today  to  find  even  high 
churchmen  emphasizing  an  ethical  significance 
of  the  sacrament  which  is  logically  quite  differ- 
ent from  that  inculcated  by  the  doctrine  of  a 
"real  presence."  It  is  frequently  urged  that  one 
of  the  chief  benefits  of  the  eucharist  is  so  to 


2l6  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

impress  the  soul  with  the  presence  of  God  in 
this  particular  instance  that,  under  the  inspira- 
tion thus  gained,  one  may  learn  to  discern  the 
divine  presence  everywhere.  In  the  non-ritualis- 
tic churches  the  sacramental  efficacy  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  is  completely  disappearing.  It  is 
coming  to  be  regarded  as  a  symbol  of  an  ethical, 
mystical  experience  which  is  not  absolutely  de- 
pendent on  the  ritual  for  its  existence.  Whether 
the  Christian  shall  participate  in  the  Lord's 
Supper  or  not  depends  on  whether  he  actually 
finds  it  to  be  spiritually  helpful  or  not.  Here, 
again,  the  changed  interpretation  does  not  mean 
the  elimination  of  the  ritual.  It  means  rather 
that  its  religious  significance  is  referred  to  its 
actual  ability  to  serve  religious  experience  rather 
than  to  any  authoritative  rights.  There  is  no 
longer  any  miracle  connected  with  the  Lord's 
Supper  in  Protestant  churches.  But  as  a  means 
of  enabling  the  members  of  a  Christian  commu- 
nity to  realize  the  unseen  presence  of  their  social 
possession  of  the  divine  Spirit,  it  is  gladly  re- 
tained as  an  element  of  Christianity. 


ETHICAL   TRANSFORMATION  217 

The  same  transfer  of  emphasis  from  the 
thought  of  a  miraculous  origin  to  the  recognition 
of  a  proved  moral  efficacy  is  evident  in  the 
changes  which  have  taken  place  in  the  doctrine 
of  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible.  No  longer  do 
we  feel  it  necessary  to  insist  on  the  complete 
passivity  of  the  human  writers  of  the  biblical 
books,  so  that  it  may  be  possible  to  assert  that 
the  Bible  has  a  totally  different  origin  from 
other  writings.  More  and  more  are  we  seeking 
to  bring  the  biblical  writers  within  the  circle  of 
normal  human  experience,  and  to  picture  them 
as  subject  to  the  same  fears  and  hopes  as  other 
men  of  their  day.  What  constitutes  their  great- 
ness in  our  eyes  is  their  moral  earnestness  and 
their  heroic  persistence  in  facing  the  facts  of  life 
with  the  determination  to  realize  the  presence  of 
God  in  dark  places.  The  Bible  is  valued  today 
because  of  its  actual  power  to  quicken  our  re- 
ligious and  moral  ideals  rather  than  because  of 
any  particular  theory  concerning  its  origin.  The 
biblical  writers  take  their  place  among  their 
fellow  men,  claiming  no  aristocratic  immunity 


2l8  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

from  the  common  temptations  and  weaknesses 
of  humanity,  but  revealing  the  possibilities  open 
to  men  if  only  they  will  trust  the  leadings  of 
religious  insight  and  devote  themselves  to  the 
moral  welfare  of  their  fellows.  It  is  perhaps  not 
without  significance  that  this  very  democratizing 
of  our  doctrine  of  scripture  has  resulted  in  a 
new  appreciation  of  the  prophets  of  Israel,  and 
has  exalted  the  historical  Jesus  in  such  a  way  as 
to  make  him  a  savior  for  men  who  had  failed  to 
discover  the  meaning  of  salvation  as  it  was  ex- 
pounded in  terms  of  aristocratic  relationships. 
That  our  estimate  of  the  Bible  has  greatly 
changed  is  undeniable;  but  the  newer  estimate 
means  that  the  spiritual  power  of  the  Bible  is 
better  enabled  to  enter  into  our  modern  problems 
and  leaven  modern  life.  Who  that  has  learned 
the  message  of  the  prophets  would  exchange  the 
enthusiasm  for  social  righteousness  which  is 
kindled  by  contact  with  these  seers  of  old  for 
the  traditional  habit  of  finding  in  the  prophecies 
miraculous  knowledge  of  future  events?  Just 
in  so  far  as  we  feel  the  pressure  of  the  moral 


ETHICAL   TRANSFORMATION  2IQ 

problems  due  to  our  democratic  society  do  we 
feel  the  actual  leadership  of  those  supreme  re- 
ligious non-conformists  of  ancient  times,  who 
believed  that  the  direct  summons  of  a  social 
wrong  needing  to  be  righted  was  more  valuable 
than  any  ecclesiastical  claim  or  any  ritual  sanc- 
tified by  authoritative  usage. 

Again,  a  notable  change  is  coming  over  our 
conception  of  the  nature  of  regeneration.  When 
once  the  belief  in  baptismal  regeneration  is 
abandoned,  the  way  is  open  for  a  conception  of 
conversion  which  shall  be  genuinely  ethical  in 
the  modern  sense.  It  is  true  that  Protestantism 
has  to  a  large  extent  retained  the  picture  of  a 
mysterious  transformation  which  takes  place  by 
unknown  laws,  and  which  has  been  frequently 
regarded  as  an  inner  miracle.  But  as  we  bring 
to  bear  on  this  experience  the  light  of  psycho- 
logical investigation,  and  as  we  apply  the  test  of 
ethical  results,  we  are  coming  more  and  more  to 
recognize  that  Bushnell  was  right  when  he  con- 
tended for  a  method  of  becoming  a  Christian 
which  should  correlate  the  religious  life  with  the 


22O  SOCIAL  IDEALISM 

processes  of  education  in  other  realms.  We  see 
that  men  like  Theodore  L.  Cuyler  and  Phillips 
Brooks,  who  never  experienced  anything  which 
they  could  identify  as  a  miraculous  change  of 
character,  were  none  the  less  actually  in  posses- 
sion of  the  secret  of  communion  with  God.  In- 
creasingly churches  are  depending  on  the  natural 
processes  of  religious  education  rather  than  on 
the  more  dramatic  methods  of  the  public  revival 
with  its  suggestions  of  the  special  and  peculiar 
character  of  religious  experience.  The  reality 
of  the  transformation  of  character  when  one  be- 
comes a  Christian  is  as  unquestioned  under  the 
new  theory  and  practice  as  under  the  old.  But 
the  transformation  is  referred  to  immanent 
forces  rather  than  to  the  intervention  of  an  alien 
influence. 

So,  too,  in  non-liturgical  churches,  ordination 
has  received  an  interpretation  which  transfers  it 
from  the  realm  of  miracle  to  the  realm  of  prac- 
tical efficiency.  Indeed,  there  are  not  wanting 
ministers  who  object  to  the  practice  of  the  lay- 
ing on  of  hands  on  the  ground  that  thereby  it 


ETHICAL   TRANSFORMATION  221 

may  be  suggested  to  observers  that  some  mys- 
terious potency  is  imparted  through  this  rite. 
Ordination  thus  becomes  simply  the  symbol  of 
an  ethical  fitness  for  ministering  to  men  in  re- 
sponse to  the  needs  which  Christianity  can  sat- 
isfy. The  important  thing  is  the  minister's 
ethical  sense  of  his  calling  rather  than  an  appeal 
to  a  sacramental  source  of  religious  efficiency. 

These  instances  of  doctrinal  modifications  re- 
veal the  fact  that  there  has  actually  entered  into 
theology  an  ethical  emphasis  which  finds  abun- 
dant access  to  God  without  appeal  to  miracle. 
We  have  developed,  or  we  are  in  the  process  of 
developing,  such  a  degree  of  confidence  in  the 
morally  honest  use  of  God's  universally  acces- 
sible resources  that  the  older  type  of  dependence 
on  miracle  seems  to  be  actually  less  secure.  Who 
that  has  come  to  the  symbolic  and  ethical  con- 
ception of  the  value  of  baptism  would  wish  to  go 
back  to  the  place  where  he  would  feel  that  a  soul 
was  lost  if  the  rite  of  baptism  had  not  been  duly 
administered?  Do  we  not  today  regard  with 
pity  the  agonies  of  doubt  endured  by  many  an 


222  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

honest  youth  of  former  days,  when  he  could  not 
be  sure  that  there  had  entered  into  his  life  any 
such  supernatural  transformation  as  was  de- 
manded by  current  standards?  Are  we  not  ac- 
tually in  possession  of  a  religion  of  broader  effi- 
ciency when  we  frankly  recognize  that  there  are 
purely  "natural"  ways  by  which  the  divine  spirit 
takes  possession  of  a  man's  will  and  aspirations? 
In  an  age  when  democratic  opportunities  for  all 
men  to  achieve  their  highest  welfare  are  regarded 
as  morally  admirable,  the  pathway  to  citizenship 
in  the  Kingdom  of  heaven  must  not  be  barred  by 
aristocratic  conditions.  We  cannot  help  believ- 
ing that  God  cares  more  for  the  actual  existence 
of  a  transformed  life  than  he  does  for  the  means 
by  which  the  transformation  was  accomplished; 
that  he  is  more  concerned  that  the  church  of 
Jesus  Christ  shall  be  an  active  aggressive  force 
for  righteousness  than  that  it  shall  vindicate  its 
claims  to  a  specifically  authorized  origin;  and 
that  he  would  rather  see  the  spirit  of  the 
prophets  and  of  the  apostles  actually  dominating 
the  lives  of  men  than  to  see  them  stake  all  on 


ETHICAL   TRANSFORMATION  223 

the  validity  of  a  specific  theory  of  inspiration  or 
of  apostolic  succession. 

It  is  interesting  and  instructive  in  this  con- 
nection to  observe  that,  in  many  current  discus- 
sions of  miracles  intended  by  theologians  to 
make  possible  a  belief  in  the  miraculous  as  an 
essential  element  of  Christianity,  the  miracles 
are  shorn  of  those  very  qualities  which  serve  to 
differentiate  them  from  non-miraculous  events. 
They  thus  lose  their  aristocratic  privilege,  and 
take  their  place  in  a  democratic  cosmos,  where 
all  events  are  to  be  treated  alike.  Two  or  three 
quotations  from  recent  treatises  will  serve  to 
illustrate  this  point: 

"Science  recognizes  no  single  miracle  because  all 
the  world  has  become  miraculous."  (William  Adams 
Brown,  Christian  Theology  in  Outline,  p.  228.) 

"Should  we  not  rather  say,  'Doubtless  God's  relation 
to  nature  in  this  miraculous  occurrence  remains  just 
what  it  always  is?':  (Henry  Churchill  King,  Recon- 
struction in  Theology,  p.  74.) 

"Miracle  is  an  immediate  operation  of  God;  but, 
since  all  natural  processes  are  also  immediate  opera- 
tions of  God,  we  do  not  need  to  deny  the  use  of  these 
natural  processes,  so  far  as  they  will  go,  in  miracle. 
Such  wonders  of  the  Old  Testament  as  the  overthrow 


224  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  the  partings  of  the  Red  Sea 
and  of  the  Jordan,  the  calling  down  of  fire  from 
heaven  by  Elijah  and  the  destruction  of  the  army  of 
Sennacherib,  are  none  the  less  works  of  God  when  re- 
garded as  wrought  by  the  use  of  natural  means.  In 
the  New  Testament  Christ  took  water  to  make  wine 
and  took  the  five  loaves  to  make  bread,  just  as  in  ten 
thousand  vineyards  to-day  he  is  turning  the  moisture 
of  the  earth  into  the  juice  of  the  grape,  and  in  ten 
thousand  fields  is  turning  carbon  into  corn.  The  vir- 
gin birth  of  Christ  may  be  an  extreme  instance  of 
parthenogenesis,  which  Professor  Loeb  of  Chicago  has 
just  demonstrated  to  take  place  in  other  than  the 
lowest  forms  of  life,  and  which  he  believes  possible 
in  all."  (Augustus  H.  Strong,  Systematic  Theology, 
Vol.  I,  p.  119.) 

These  quotations  from  widely  influential 
theologians  of  today  illustrate  the  change  which 
has  taken  place  in  regard  to  the  place  of  miracle 
in  our  religious  faith.  The  dualism  which  made 
it  possible  to  assign  certain  events  to  a  higher 
order  has  vanished  completely.  "Doubtless  God's 
relation  to  nature  in  this  miraculous  occurrence 
remains  just  what  it  always  is."  But  the  very 
essence  of  the  traditional  conception  of  miracle 
was  found  in  the  belief  that  in  the  miraculous  oc- 
currence God's  relation  to  nature  was  not  what 


ETHICAL   TRANSFORMATION  225 

it  always  is.  When  the  virgin  birth  of  Christ 
and  the  experiments  of  a  modern  biologist  can 
be  put  on  the  same  plane,  class  distinctions  in 
the  cosmos  have  been  as  completely  leveled  as 
were  political  distinctions  in  the  French  Revo- 
lution. Even  if  the  word  "miracle"  be  retained 
there  is  no  room  left  for  such  a  use  of  the  term 
as  is  implied  in  orthodox  theology.  In  the  case 
of  two  of  the  above-mentioned  theologians,  the 
actual  content  of  their  theology  and  the  actual 
structure  of  their  faith  would  not  be  seriously 
impaired  if  it  should  be  found  necessary  to  deny 
the  historicity  of  the  biblical  marvels.  Man's 
knowledge  of  God,  his  relation  to  God,  his  sal- 
vation through  Christ,  and  his  religious  life  are 
expounded  in  terms  which  would  require  practi- 
cally no  changes  in  content  if  the  possibility  of 
miracles  were  denied  outright.  Their  theology 
is  genuinely  ethical  in  content  according  to  the 
standards  of  our  democracy.  Special  privilege 
has  vanished  completely  from  their  conception 
of  the  relations  between  God  and  man.  One  of 
them  in  the  same  book  from  which  the  above 


226  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

quotation  was  taken  confesses  his  belief  in  the 
divinity  of  Christ  in  a  series  of  propositions,  not 
one  of  which  necessarily  implies  a  miraculous 
origin  of  Christ's  personality.  The  significance 
of  Christ  is  measured  according  to  the  ethical 
standards  of  our  modern  world,  and  is  found  to 
be  such  that  belief  in  Christ's  divinity  is  a  moral 
duty  just  because  of  the  ethical  considerations 
urged. 

The  foregoing  remarks  will  show  that  the 
ethical  transformation  of  theology  in  accord- 
ance with  the  democratic  standards  of  our  day 
is  actually  taking  place  with  great  rapidity.  At- 
tention, however,  should  be  called  to  one  aspect 
of  the  matter,  which  deserves  careful  considera- 
tion. In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  content  of 
doctrine  is  allowed  to  appeal  to  the  moral  sense 
of  men  for  its  vindication,  and  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  it  embodies  the  ethical  values  of  our 
modern  democratic  strivings,  the  fundamental 
presuppositions  of  the  older  aristocratic  ideal  are 
almost  universally  retained  in  modified  form  as  if 
the  validity  of  religious  belief  depended  upon 


ETHICAL   TRANSFORMATION  22? 

their  retention.  The  terms  belonging  to  mediae- 
val theology  are  retained  and  adapted  to  the 
situation,  as  if  these  mediaeval  ideals  rather  than 
our  modern  moral  convictions  constituted  the 
real  basis  of  assurance.  Some  doctrine  of  in- 
spiration is  likely  to  be  elaborated,  so  that  it 
may  seem  that  the  utterances  of  the  Bible  are 
guaranteed  by  this  special  and  unique  charac- 
teristic rather  than  by  their  capacity  to  meet  the 
deepest  needs  of  men.  Some  sort  of  an  apology 
for  the  miracles  recorded  in  biblical  literature  is 
likely  to  emerge  so  that  one's  attitude  toward 
the  events  recorded  in  this  literature  is  different 
from  the  attitude  toward  similar  narratives  in 
other  literature,  as  if  faith  really  rested  on  a 
miraculous  basis.  The  supremacy  of  Christ  is 
felt  to  be  endangered  if  it  should  be  admitted 
that  his  marvellous  insight  and  his  incomparable 
life  need  not  be  explained  primarily  by  a  theory 
of  transcendent  origin. 

In  other  words,  while  the  content  of  our  re- 
ligious experience  has  responded  to  modern 
ideals  so  that  we  are  really  living  in  a  spirit  of 


228  SOCIAL    IDEALISM 

confidence  in  the  divine  capacities  of  the  imma- 
nent forces  of  our  environment,  we  have  not  yet 
succeeded  in  defining  divinity  in  accordance  with 
the  dictates  of  our  religious  experience.  We  still 
picture  it  as  something  essentially  belonging  to 
an  "other"  world,  and  needing  to  be  brought 
into  this  world  by  a  special  process.  We  feel 
that,  in  order  to  recognize  it,  it  must  be  so  set 
apart  from  the  "natural"  order  that  it  shall  ap- 
pear as  something  unique.  But,  at  the  same  time, 
we  are  compelled  by  the  scientific  and  the  moral 
demands  of  our  culture  to  pare  down  and  to 
modify  those  miraculous  characteristics  which 
formerly  stood  as  the  signs  par  excellence  of 
divinity.  The  next  step  in  the  development  of 
an  ethical  theology  must  be  the  translation  of 
the  categories  of  divinity  into  terms  compatible 
with  democratic  ethics.  We  must  learn  to  think 
of  God  as  the  immanent  co-worker  always  toil- 
ing with  his  children  rather  than  as  the  sover- 
eign to  whom  they  are  subject,  and  from  whom 
they  receive  special  benefits  and  favors  as  from 
a  patron.  The  salvation  which  God  makes  pos- 


ETHICAL   TRANSFORMATION  229 

sible  must  be  interpreted  as  a  process  of  co- 
operation with  God  rather  than  as  an  endow- 
ment from  another  realm.  That  this  may  in- 
volve considerable  modifications  even  of  our  al- 
ready modified  theology  is  quite  probable;  but, 
having  begun  the  transformation,  why  should 
we  halt  until  we  have  succeeded  in  adapting  our 
religious  formulae  to  the  actual  exigencies  of 
life? 

Perhaps  the  most  significant  step  in  the  direc- 
tion of  such  an  ethical  transformation  as  has 
been  suggested  is  to  be  seen  in  the  modern  em- 
phasis in  setting  forth  the  nature  of  Christ.  The 
ancient  and  mediaeval  conception  of  divinity  is 
revealed  in  the  items  which  find  a  place  in  the 
creeds  of  the  church.  If  we  take  the  Apostles' 
Creed  as  an  example,  we  find  that  the  divinity 
of  Christ  was  most  clearly  seen  in  his  super- 
natural advent,  in  his  suffering  and  death  with 
their  mysterious  redemptive  efficacy,  in  his  mirac- 
ulous resurrection  and  ascension,  and  in  his 
expected  miraculous  second  advent.  Divinity 
was  pictured  as  something  transcendent;  and  the 


230  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

divinity  of  Christ  was  located  in  those  aspects 
of  his  life  and  character  which  removed  him 
from  the  natural  order. 

Now  if  we  examine  the  Christological  discus- 
sions of  the  past  century,  we  find  an  increasing 
eagerness  to  discover  the  significance  of  Christ 
precisely  in  that  region  which  is  passed  over  in 
absolute  silence  in  the  Apostles'  Creed.  Who 
today  does  not  wish  that  we  might  have  access 
to  reliable  sources  of  information  concerning  the 
years  of  Jesus'  boyhood  and  youth?  What  an 
inspiration  such  an  account  would  be  to  the  boys 
and  girls  who  now  find  it  difficult  to  be  gen- 
uinely interested  in  the  doctrinal  interpretations 
of  Christ  which  characterized  the  early  centur- 
ies !  How  eagerly  we  are  seeking  to  reconstruct 
for  ourselves  from  the  fragmentary  records  of 
the  gospels  a  picture  of  the  ethical  religious  life 
of  Jesus !  The  past  century  has  witnessed  the 
gradual  retirement  of  emphasis  on  the  virgin 
birth,  on  the  nature  miracles  and  on  the  eschato- 
logical  advent,  and  the  increasing  interest  in  the 
life  of  Jesus  as  a  citizen  of  this  world.  When 


ETHICAL  TRANSFORMATION  23! 

Schleiermacher,  with  his  prophetic  understand- 
ing of  the  nature  of  modern  religious  demands, 
undertook  to  set  forth  his  Christology,  he  ex- 
plicitly declared  that  every  item  of  the  Apostles' 
Creed  was  inadequate  to  express  the  content  of 
modern  belief  in  the  divinity  of  Christ.     That 
divinity  was  not  to  be  located  in  external  marks, 
for  the  God  whom  Schleiermacher  knew  was 
not  external  to  the  world.   The  divinity  of  Christ 
must  rather  be  sought  in  the  God-consciousness 
which  dominated  his  life.     It  is  only  as  we  share 
this   God-consciousness  and  thus  discover  God 
within  our  life,  that  we  can  confess  our  belief  in 
the  divinity  of  Christ  in  any  religious  sense.  The 
salvation  which  we  may  have  through  Christ  is 
located  in  the  social  power  of  the  Christian  com- 
munity to  transmit  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion the  God-consciousness  which  is  possible  be- 
cause of  the  moral  courage  and  the  spiritual  in- 
sight created  by  our  acquaintance  with  Christ. 
Schleiermacher  thus  expounds  the  most  precious 
truth  of  Christianity — that  truth  which,  because 
of  its  supreme  value,  has  been  put  into  terms  of 


232  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

a  transcendent  miracle — as  an  ethical  social  ex- 
perience, which  does  not  need  the  support  of 
the  traditional  miracles,  and  which,  indeed,  could 
not  be  adequately  interpreted  by  the  appeal  to 
such  miracles.  It  is  true  that  Schleiermacher 
still  retained  a  vestige  of  the  older  dualism  when 
he  insisted  that  this  God-consciousness  of  Jesus, 
which  is  the  source  of  the  religious  transforma- 
tion of  the  ideals  of  men,  must  be  referred  to  an 
alien  source.  But  it  requires  only  a  little  study 
of  his  theology  to  see  that  his  Christology  and 
his  conception  of  salvation  would  not  actually 
be  impaired  if  this  transcendent  reference  were 
eliminated.  When  God  is  conceived  as  a  living, 
immanent  power,  so  that,  as  Schleiermacher  said 
in  his  famous  Discourses  on  Religion,  every 
event,  no  matter  how  common,  becomes  miracle 
to  one  who  has  felt  the  reality  of  the  immanent 
divine  presence,  it  is  not  necessary  to  go  outside 
of  the  "natural"  realm  in  order  to  find  God.  In- 
deed, from  this  point  of  view,  the  divinity  of 
Christ  may  appear  more  significant  if  it  be 
shown  to  have  sprung  from  the  apparently  tin- 


ETHICAL   TRANSFORMATION  233 

promising  level  of  purely  human  and  purely 
natural  processes,  exactly  as  the  greatness  of 
Lincoln  has  peculiar  value  for  us  because  he 
started  with  no  aristocratic  advantages  over 
other  boys  in  our  republic. 

It  is  this  new  conception  of  divine  immanence 
which  makes  the  newer  "liberalism"  different 
from  Deism  and  its  historical  daughter,  the  older 
Unitarianism.  So  long  as  the  natural  order  was 
conceived  as  Godless,  needing  some  special  in- 
tervention in  order  to  assure  men  of  the  presence 
of  divine  power,  the  reference  of  the  essentials 
of  religion  to  a  "natural"  source  would  seem  to 
be  equivalent  to  a  denial  of  the  divine  power  of 
those  elements.  Baptism  must  possess  super- 
natural potency ;  the  Lord's  Supper  must  embody 
a  "real  presence" ;  the  Bible  must  have  originated 
through  a  unique  operation  of  the  divine  spirit 
in  the  minds  of  the  writers ;  the  church  must  have 
a  definite  charter  from  Christ ;  the  ministry  must 
receive  the  special  unction  of  the  grace  of  ordi- 
nation; and  Jesus  himself  must  have  come  from 
another  world.  But  if  once  our  conception  of 


234  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

God  be  so  modified  that  he  becomes  the  ever- 
present  immanent  Spirit,  we  need  no  interven- 
tions from  an  alien  world  in  order  to  be  sure  of 
the  divine  presence.  The  reference  of  elements 
of  our  religion  to  "natural"  sources  does  not 
necessarily  involve  a  denial  of  their  divine  po- 
tency. It  is  quality,  not  metaphysical  origin, 
which  determines  the  matter.  The  test  is  ethical 
rather  than  cosmic;  and  since,  in  our  demo- 
cratic thought,  lowly  origin  is  not  incompatible 
with  the  achievement  of  supreme  moral  values, 
we  are  not  disturbed  by  the  suggestions  of 
historians  and  scientists  that  some  of  the  most 
precious  articles  of  our  faith  may  have  had 
a  less  dramatic  origin  than  was  once  supposed. 
For  in  this  wonderful  world  with  its  infinite 
resources  there  is  room  for  all  that  the  human 
spirit  holds  dear.  God  is  found  working  his 
marvels  of  transformation  in  the  many  varied 
processes  of  growth  which  lead  to  beauty  and 
to  moral  life  and  to  worship.  Nothing  is  to  be 
despised  which  leads  to  awe  and  reverence  and 
moral  aspiration.  It  is  just  in  so  far  as  this 


ETHICAL   TRANSFORMATION  235 

feeling  for  the  immanent  presence  of  God 
becomes  a  vital  reality  that  the  religious  barren- 
ness of  the  older  "naturalism"  disappears.  The 
genuine  mystic  has  always  possessed  more  direct 
access  to  God  than  was  possible  by  the  pathway 
of  carefully  defined  miracle  and  revelation.  It 
is  the  fact  of  a  broader  mysticism  today  which 
makes  antiquated  some  of  the  fears  which  are 
honestly  expressed  as  men  "view  with  alarm" 
the  inroads  of  criticism  in  the  field  of  theology. 
The  eager  response  of  thousands  to  even  such 
vulnerable  forms  of  an  immanent  theology  as  are 
represented  in  Christian  Science  and  "New 
Thought"  shows  that  the  soil  is  ready  for  the 
sowing  of  seed  which  may  grow  into  the  fruits 
of  profound  religious  living. 

The  moment  one  consistently  adopts  the  point 
of  view  toward  which  modern  science  and  mod- 
ern ethics  lead  us,  one  becomes  a  humble  seeker 
after  God.  If  one  comes  to  regard  this  world 
not  as  a  hard  and  finished  creation,  but  as  a 
realm  of  infinite  potencies,  many  of  which  we 
have  not  begun  to  appreciate,  the  most  worthy 


236  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

attitude  is  one  of  optimistic  trust  in  the  out- 
come of  patient  and  honest  questioning  as  to  the 
secrets  of  life.  Just  as  we  find  by  scientific  re- 
search that  the  universe  has  all  the  time  been 
waiting  to  reward  man's  quest  by  revealing  the 
marvels  which  invention  and  discovery  have 
brought  to  light,  so  we  learn  that  the  re- 
ligious quest  meets  with  abundant  answer.  We 
are,  indeed,  dependent  on  the  mighty  resources 
outside  our  little  personal  life  for  the  blessing 
of  our  experience.  Let  us  not  think  that  the 
modern  attitude  involves  a  glorification  of  man's 
isolated  powers.  On  the  contrary,  the  steam  en- 
gine and  the  telegraph  make  us  acutely  con- 
scious of  the  limitations  of  our  personal  capaci- 
ties. Let  the  train  be  delayed  or  the  telephone 
wire  broken,  and  our  impotence  is  exasperat- 
ingly  revealed.  We  are  in  practical  life  depend- 
ing to  an  extraordinary  extent  on  the  friendly 
cooperation  of  the  mighty  forces  of  the  uni- 
verse to  achieve  our  welfare. 

So  in  the  spiritual  life,  the  modern  spirit  be- 
comes acutely  conscious   of   its  dependence  on 


ETHICAL   TRANSFORMATION  237 

the  friendly  cooperation  of  the  immanent  God. 
Prayer  and  aspiration  and  strenuous  endeavor 
all  become  imperative.  Linked  as  we  are  to  an 
animal  inheritance,  we  are  nevertheless  able  to 
seek  a  higher  life.  Only  as  we  shall  be  con- 
scious of  the  reinforcement  of  our  aspirations 
by  the  power  which  comes  from  communion 
with  the  unseen  can  we  overcome  temptation 
and  rise  to  a  triumphant  assertion  of  our  high- 
est ideals.  There  is  a  mighty  religious  impulse 
latent  in  the  attitude  of  humble  and  eager  ques- 
tioning which  is  becoming  so  common,  but 
which  has  not  yet  received  adequate  religious 
interpretation. 

Let  us  briefly  put  in  contrast  the  older  and 
the  newer  type  of  religious  experience.  Both 
recognize  the  imperative  need  of  man  for  God. 
The  older,  however,  brings  one  into  contact  with 
the  finished  theories  and  the  established  institu- 
tions which  have  been  wrought  out  in  the  past, 
and  asserts  that,  by  learning  the  content  of  the 
doctrines  and  by  committing  onself  to  the  au- 
thoritative power  of  the  institutions,  one  may 


238  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

receive  by  special  dispensation  grace  from  an- 
other world,  which  will  enable  one  to  overcome 
temptation  and  enter  into  eternal  life.  The 
newer  starts  with  the  questioning  mood  rather 
than  with  the  authoritative  theories.  It  finds 
that  honest  questioning  is  sure  to  meet  with  an 
answer.  It  recognizes  with  gratitude  and  rever- 
ence the  value  of  the  answers  which  come  out 
of  the  past;  but  it  believes  that  these  can  al- 
ways be  verified,  supplemented  or  improved  by 
further  questioning.  Therefore,  the  religious  life 
becomes  an  exercise  of  unceasing  prayer,  and 
God  is  discovered  not  only  in  the  traditional 
ways,  but  in  many  an  apparently  unpromising 
place.  The  positive  appreciation  of  other  re- 
ligions than  Christianity  confirms  the  sense  of 
certainty  that  the  religious  quest  is  justified,  and 
enlarges  the  vision  of  religious  achievement. 
The  history  of  Christianity,  with  its  record  of 
many  an  originally  pagan  custom  baptised  into 
Christian  service,  inspires  the  desire  to  see  the 
secular  movements  of  our  day  also  transfigured 
by  the  spirit  of  Christian  faith.  Thus  God  is  not 


ETHICAL   TRANSFORMATION  239 

adequately  symbolized  as  a  sovereign  who  de- 
creed in  finished  form  the  details  of  religion. 
He  is  rather  the  immanent,  living  Spirit  of  truth 
and  righteousness,  who  meets  our  quest  with  the 
resources  of  infinite  love,  and  whose  highest  joy 
is  found  in  cooperating  with  his  children.  If 
doubt  comes  concerning  some  of  the  traditional 
theories  concerning  his  nature  and  his  ways 
with  men,  it  only  means  that  we  are  again  ask- 
ing fundamental  questions,  which  will  receive 
their  answer  if  we  honestly  and  persistently  seek 
the  truth. 

Life  may  be  defined  as  the  eager  quest  of  an 
organism  for  something  in  the  environment 
which  will  enable  it  to  develop.  The  environ- 
ment is  absolutely  essential.  Religious  life  is 
the  quest  for  the  reinforcement  of  our  highest 
ideals  by  the  spiritual  contribution  from  the  en- 
vironing universe.  The  supreme  question  for 
theology  is  to  discover  how  this  environment 
may  be  so  correlated  to  the  needy  life  that  the 
fullest  possible  use  may  be  made  of  the  divine 
power.  The  theology  of  the  coming  generation 


24O  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

will  confidently  and  positively  adopt  this  point 
of  view  which  at  the  same  time  brings  religious 
questioning  into  line  with  scientific  investiga- 
tion, and  also  satisfies  the  demands  of  demo- 
cratic ethics  by  giving  to  the  most  lowly  elements 
of  historical  and  cosmic  reality  the  free  oppor- 
tunity to  command  our  reverence  and  our  devo- 
tion if  only  they  evince  the  spiritual  qualities 
which  are  necessary.  Thus  there  emerge  from 
the  tossing  deep  of  our  restless  questionings 
certain  islands  of  faith  which  perchance  may 
some  time  be  joined  together  into  a  grander 
continent  of  religious  truth. 

When  the  little  babe  is  born  into  the  world,  so 
helpless  and  dependent,  mother  love  is  there 
ready  to  satisfy  the  wants  of  the  little  soul, 
eager  to  anticipate  its  needs.  Who  that  had 
never  seen  it  would  suspect  that  the  pleasure- 
loving  life  of  a  young  girl  would  yield  such  a 
revelation  of  self-sacrificing  love?  The  re- 
ligious soul  is  sure  that  God  here  makes  avail- 
able for  his  needy  little  ones  the  resources  of 
his  love  no  less  surely  than  in  the  theological 


ETHICAL   TRANSFORMATION  24! 

plan  of  salvation.  As  the  life  of  the  little  babe 
grows  and  expands,  there  emerge  from  its  en- 
vironment the  satisfactions  of  its  needs.  The 
growing  intellect  finds  the  marvellous  universe 
awaiting  scientific  formulation;  and,  in  response 
to  invention  and  construction,  unseen  forces 
cure  our  bodily  ills,  transport  us  in  comfort  and 
safety  to  remote  places,  and  enable  us  to  com- 
municate with  our  fellow  men  in  defiance  of 
"natural"  limits  of  space  and  time.  Does  it 
mean  nothing  that  our  physical  environment 
thus  ministers  abundantly  to  our  spiritual 
needs?  Then  when  the  sense  of  social  need  de- 
velops in  the  child,  playmates  and  companions 
and  heroes  enter  and  enrich  experience.  As  the 
craving  for  beauty  stirs  within  us,  lo!  the  col- 
ors of  the  sunset  sky,  the  majestic  grandeur  of 
the  mountains  and  the  charm  of  human  face 
and  form  evoke  the  art  which  so  enlarges  the 
spiritual  life.  Is  there  no  religious  significance 
in  this  wonderful  enlargement  of  our  vision? 
When,  in  the  adolescent,  restless  longings  grow 
into  youth's  ideals,  there  comes  a  divine  discon- 


242  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

tent  with  anything  less  than  the  best,  and  noth- 
ing but  a  personal  contact  with  God  can  satisfy 
the  lofty  aspirations  which  take  possession  of 
the  opening  heart.  As  sex  consciousness  arises, 
in  that  mysterious  way  which  only  lovers  un- 
derstand, there  comes  out  of  the  unseen  that 
great  experience  of  a  transforming  love,  lead- 
ing to  the  religious  sacrament  of  marriage,  and 
to  the  family  love  and  devotion  which  furnished 
Jesus  with  the  best  symbols  for  Christian  rela- 
tionships. When,  in  deep  penitence  for  wrong 
committed,  the  soul  seeks  communion  with  a 
restoring  power,  the  springs  of  moral  achieve- 
ment are  again  opened  through  the  experience 
of  God's  forgiveness,  and  the  former  ideals  are 
reconquered;  but  with  the  conquest  come  a  di- 
vine pity  for  those  who  have  fallen  and  an  ear- 
nest desire  to  be  used  of  God  in  making  known 
his  never-failing  aid  in  times  of  trouble.  When 
physical  disaster  overwhelms  us  and  defeats  the 
body,  the  invincible  spirit  whch  lives  in  com- 
munion with  the  unseen  Presence  may  rise  su- 
preme in  the  sense  of  a  peace  which  passeth  un- 


ETHICAL   TRANSFORMATION  243 

derstanding.  And  when  at  last  this  little  span 
of  physical  life  is  run,  and  the  exhausted  body 
can  no  longer  serve  the  spirit,  we  can  venture 
with  trust  and  joy  into  the  infinite  mystery 
which  has  ever  ministered  to  us  so  graciously. 

Theology  must  interpret  for  us  this  varied 
truth  of  the  uplifting  experience  of  the  environ- 
ing God.  An  ethical  theology,  which  in  all  sin- 
cerity asks  the  questions  which  are  pressed 
from  the  hearts  of  men;  which  in  its  question- 
ing uses  fearlessly  the  best  methods  which  criti- 
cal science  can  furnish;  which  insists  on  no  aris- 
tocratic privilege  of  definitely  limited  authorita- 
tive doctrines,  but  admits  gladly  to  its  precincts 
anything  which  compels  the  moral  adoration  of 
men;  which  learns  gratefully  from  the  past,  but 
looks  to  a  better  future;  which  appreciates  the 
service  rendered  by  those  conceptions  of  God  and 
of  salvation  which  have  emerged  in  history,  but 
confidently  believes  that  the  borders  of  our 
knowledge  may  ever  be  enlarged;  such  a  theol- 
ogy will  not  be  poorer,  but  will  rather  be  richer 
than  the  ecclesiastical  system.  Did  the  mediaeval 


244  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

church  rejoice  that  in  its  one  unique  baptismal 
rite  God's  saving  grace  was  mediated  to  men? 
We  have  not  only  the  baptism  of  the  church,  but 
also  the  countless  other  ways  in  which  the  chil- 
dren of  men  are  initiated  into  the  great  experi- 
ence of  love  for  the  good  and  power  to  over- 
come. Have  men  in  the  past  uttered  their 
hymns  of  praise  because,  uniquely  in  the  eleva- 
tion of  the  host  at  the  Mass,  the  real  divine 
presence  comforted  and  assured  the  hearts  of 
devout  worshippers?  We,  too,  can  feel  the 
presence  of  God  in  the  cathedral;  but  he  also 
speaks  to  us  words  of  comfort  in  the  memories 
of  a  mother's  love,  in  the  influence  of  a  strong 
companion,  in  the  reading  of  the  story  of  the 
life  of  Jesus,  and  in  the  call  to  heroic  ministry. 
Has  the  church  expressed  its  belief  in  the  readi- 
ness of  God  to  reveal  himself,  by  formulating 
theories  of  the  inspiration  of  scriptures?  We, 
too,  have  those  same  scriptures;  but  we  add  to 
them  the  words  of  Augustine  and  Luther  and 
Thomas  a  Kempis  and  Phillips  Brooks.  We  are 
glad  to  admit  any  man  into  the  list  of  inspired 


ETHICAL   TRANSFORMATION  245 

writers  on  one  condition  only,  viz.,  that  he 
shall  actually  make  us  feel  the  reality  of  the 
presence  of  God  in  our  life. 

The  theology  of  today  is  rapidly  developing 
toward  this  larger  ethical  ideal.     The  greatest 
hindrance  to  a  confident  advance  is  the  inher- 
ited feeling  that  if  the  "vested  rights"  of  the 
older   systems   are   completely   disregarded,   we 
may  lose  our  reverence  for  the  ethical  values 
which    were    embodied    in    the    systems.      The 
growth  of  a  historical  understanding  of  the  way 
in  which  these  systems  originated  and  developed 
will,  however,  enable  us  to  recognize  with  grati- 
tude and  admiration  the  splendid  ethical  service 
rendered  by  that  interpretation  of  Christianity 
which  took  form  in  the  appeal  to  authority  and 
which    educated    men    by    subjecting    them    to 
the  higher  wisdom  of  the  past.     If  we  employ 
the  test  suggested  by  Jesus,  when  he  said,  "By 
their  fruits  shall  ye  know  them,"  we  must  ac- 
knowledge    our    lasting     indebtedness     to    the 
mediaeval  church.     But  the  employment  of  the 
same  test  reveals  the  fact  that  in  our  modern 


246  SOCIAL   IDEALISM 

age,  with  its  new  ideals  and  its  democratic  as- 
pirations, the  older  formulations  of  Christianity 
are  allowing  large  territories  of  human  achieve- 
ment to  escape  from  the  dominion  of  the 
Christian  spirit;  indeed,  these  same  formula- 
tions are  responsible  for  a  tendency  to  revolt 
from  Christianity  itself.  Thus  the  summons 
comes  to  a  work  of  theological  reconstruction 
which  shall  enable  Christianity  actually  to  make 
its  contribution  to  our  developing  modern  civili- 
zation. To  feel  that  this  work  is  not  destructive, 
but  constructive  in  the  true  sense;  to  feel  that 
it  is  not  less  religious  than  the  old,  but  that  it 
is  making  religion  more  real  for  us — this  is  a 
primary  essential.  We  need  not  apologize  for 
our  undertaking.  The  time  has  come  when  the 
secular  forces  of  reform  are  crying  loudly  for 
the  aid  which  can  come  only  from  a  religious 
idealism.  If  Christian  theology  shall  respond  to 
this  modern  ethical  summons,  the  day  of  its 
welcome  is  not  far  off. 


TNDEX 


Addams,  Jane,   140. 
Ambrose,   Saint,   52,   77. 
Apocalyptic    ideal,    6ff.,    18, 
43,  51,  102,  103,  116,  208. 
Apostles,   authority  of,   16. 
Apostles'    Creed,    229,    230, 

231. 

Aquinas,   Thomas,  49. 

Aristocratic  ideals,  ix,  x, 
xviii,  69,  2O5ff. ;  discred- 
ited by  modern  democ- 
racy, 21  iff. 

Asceticism,   133. 

Assurance  in  religion, 
problem  of,  is6ff. ;  ethi- 
cal basis  of,  is6ff. ;  nature 
of  in  traditional  theology, 
I52ff.,  i66ff. ;  in  primitive 
Christianity,  164;  in  me- 
diaeval Christianity,  165 ; 
in  relation  to  scientific 
method,  i67ff. 

Augustine,  25,  27,  29,  36, 
244. 

Authority,  traditional  con- 
ception of,  xx,  206,  226; 
of  Christ  in  the  primitive 
church,  joff. ;  of  the 


Catholic  church, 
33ff.,  44ff. ;  as  the  basis 
of  ethics,  36ff. ;  based  on 
revelation,  167;  as  a 
ground  of  loyalty,  175; 
of  the  Bible,  io6ff. ; 
ethical  defects  of,  an  ap- 
peal to,  193;  idea  of,  in- 
consistent with  modern 
ideals,  227. 

Baptism,  sacramental  con- 
ception of,  24ff.,  213;  as 
a  means  of  regeneration, 
208,  213;  modern  ethical 
interpretation  of,  214. 

Bible  as  authoritative,  xx, 
16,  18,  43,  209;  and  sci- 
entific inquiry,  icXSff. ; 
modern  conception  of, 

217. 

Biblical  criticism,  viii,  xviii- 
xx,  93ff.,  172;  moral  as- 
pects of,  I9off.,  199;  theo- 
logical consequences'  of, 
191  ff. ;  tests  employed  by, 
192. 

Brooks,  Phillips,  220,  244. 


247 


248 


INDEX 


Brown,      William      Adams, 

223. 

Bunyan,  106. 
Bushnell,   Horace,  219. 

Calvin,  63. 

Calvinism,  133. 

Catholic  Church,  5,  16,  17, 
33,  44,  49,  62,  97. 

Catholic  theology,  208. 

Christ,  authority  of  in 
primitive  Christianity, 
joff. ;  virgin  birth  of, 
2246*.,  230;  divinity  of, 
226,  229ff. ;  modern  inter- 
pretations of,  226,  229ff. 

Christianity,  moral  charac- 
ter of,  xvii;  traditional 
conception  of,  I ;  primi- 
tive, 8ff. ;  mediaeval,  36ff . ; 
modern  transformations 
of,  205 ff. 

Church,  primitive,  8ff. ;  me- 
diaeval theory  of,  71 ; 
modern  theory  of,  72ff., 

222. 

Copernicus,  148. 

Cuyler,  Theodore  L.,  220. 

Deism,  233. 

Democratic  ideals,  ix,  6iff., 
85 ;  and  scientific  method, 
170,  211 ;  revolt  of  against 
divine  rights,  211;  influ- 
ence of  on  modern  the- 
ology, 212,  222ff.,  234. 


Ecclesiastical  ideals,  2ff., 
28,  61,  99;  control  of  in 
religion,  igff.,  33**.,  44fT., 
7iff.,  is6ff.  ;  control  of 
in  politics,  37ff.,  630*.  ; 
discrediting  of,  47ff.  ;  con- 
trol of  scholarship,  76ff., 

93- 

Environment,     ethical  sig- 

nificance   of,    I37ff.  ;  re- 

ligious     significance  of, 


Eschatological  view  of 
history,  6ff.,  43,  51,  iO2ff., 
1  1  6,  2o8ff.  ;  social  origins 
of,  109,  164. 

Ethics,  of  Jesus,  7;  of  mod- 
ern democracy,  69,  85, 
21  1  ;  of  conformity,  74ff.  ; 
of  mediaeval  scholarship, 
77ff.  ;  of  scientific  schol- 
arship, 79ff.  ;  secular  the- 
ory of,  86ff.,  135;  of 
evangelical  Christianity, 
104,  in,  127;  of  evolu- 
tionary idealism,  I04ff.  ; 
of  industry,  I4iff.  ;  of 
aristocracy,  210;  of  mod- 
ern religion,  235. 

Evil,  problem  of,  H7ff. 

Evolution,  moral  signifi- 
cance of,  IO2ff. 

Francis,   Saint,    139. 
Freedom     of      scholarship, 
moral  problem  of,  i76ff. 


INDEX 


249 


Gnosticism,  17. 

God,    modern    thought    of, 

228,  234,   237,   243  ff. 
Gregory  the  Great,  165. 
Grotius, 


Hall,  Thomas  C,  14. 

Hildebrand,  63. 

Historical       method,       xxii, 

i9off.,  iggfi. 
Hobbes,  135. 

Industry,  place  of,  in  prim- 
itive Christianity,  Siff.  ; 
in  mediaeval  civilization, 
55ff.  ;  in  modern  life,  50, 
58ff.  ;  ethical  significance 
of,  141  ff. 

Inspiration,  changes  of  the 
doctrine  of,  217. 

James,  William,  129. 

Jeremiah,  193,  200. 

Jesus,  ideals  of,  xvii,  3ff., 
19,  30,  52,  61,  196;  mod- 
ern interpretation  of, 

230ff. 

King,       Henry       Churchill, 

102,  108,  223. 
Kingdom  of  God,  4,  6ff.,  19, 

43,   102,  147. 

Laissez-faire  philosophy,  59, 

144. 
Lord's    Supper,    sacramental 


conception  of,  215;   mod- 
ern  ethical   interpretation 
of,  216. 
Luther,  104,  166,  214,  244, 

Mediaeval  ideals,  SSff.,  62, 
99,  iiSff.  ;  in  religion, 
7  iff.;  in  ethics,  88,  89, 
103  ;  contrasted  with  mod- 
ern ideals,  i84ff.,  227. 

"Mediating"  theologies,  189. 

Miracles,  significance  of, 
103,  114,  118,  124,  131, 
149-152;  essential  to  the 
traditional  conception  of 
salvation,  2o8ff.  ;  discred- 
ited by  modern  science, 
211  ;  disappearance  of 
from  modern  theology, 
2i3ff.  ;  explanation  of  by 
modern  theology,  223ff.  ; 
Schleiermacher's  attitude 
toward,  232. 

Missionary  enterprise, 
moral  motives  of,  no. 

Modern  world,  characteris- 
tics of,  50,  I05ff.,  i48ff.  ; 
industry  in,  58ff.  ;  moral 
challenge  of,  iO2ff.  ; 
ethical  import  of,  I48ff., 
158;  religious  aspects  of, 


t 

Modernism,  97,    182. 
Mystery-cults,  17,  23,  24. 

Newton,  Isaac,  186. 


250 


INDEX 


Ordination,  modern  ethical 
interpretation  of,  220. 

Other-worldliness,  8ff.,  43, 
I02ff.,  130,  133,  164,  206. 

Paul,  ethical  ideals  of, 
i  iff.;  conception  of  re- 
generation, 21  ff. ;  and 
Jesus,  174;  and  gentile 
ideals,  193,  196. 

Penance,  ethical  significance 
of,  3off. 

Physical  conditions,  spir- 
itual significance  of,  I32ff. 

Politics,  mediaeval,  62ff. ; 
early  Protestant  theory 
of,  63;  modern  develop- 
ment of,  64ff. 

Primitive  Christianity,  ethi- 
cal ideals  of,  8ff.,  19. 

Prophets  of  Israel,  religious 
attitude  of,  198,  217. 

Protestantism,  5,  63,  103; 
doctrine  of  salvation  in, 
209. 

Rationalism,   190. 

Reconstruction  of  theology, 
x,  xv,  xviiiff.,  102,  163, 
1 88,  205-246. 

Recreation,  ethical  problem 
of,  112. 

Regeneration,  Paul's  inter- 
pretation of,  2iff. ;  Catho- 
lic interpretation  of,  208; 
early  Protestant  concep- 


tion of,  209;  modern  con- 
ception of,  219. 

Religion  and  science,  iisff., 
1 20,  123. 

Religious  education,  131. 

Religious  experience,  older 
and  newer  types  of,  237ff. 

Rights,  natural,  6sff.,  70, 
74;  of  free  scholarship, 
176. 

Sacramentalism,  256*. 

Salvation,  early  Christian 
conception  of,  196*. ;  indi- 
vidualistic conception  of, 
108,  136,  138;  Catholic 
conception  of,  207;  early 
Protestant  conception  of, 
209;  modern  conception 
of,  237ff. 

Schleiermacher's  christol- 
ogy,  23 iff. 

Scholarship,  critical,  xviiiff., 
92ff. ;  ecclesiastical  con- 
trol of,  76ff. ;  develop- 
ment of  modern,  79ff. ;  in 
theological  study,  92ff., 
I72ff.,  182;  effect  of  on 
religious  assurance, 
I73ff. ;  tests  applied  by, 
I78ff. ;  ethical  significance 
of,  182,  2Oiff. 

Scientific  control,  ethical 
significance  of,  H4ff.,  153. 

Scientific  method,  ethical 
significance  of,  158,  I72ff. ; 


INDEX 


251 


unknown  to  early  Chris- 
tianity, 164;  distrusted  by 
traditional  theology, 
i66ff. ;  emphasis  on  in 
modern  life,  I7off. ;  em- 
ployed  in  theological 
scholarship,  I72ff. ;  tests 
employed  by,  i78fL;  con- 
trasted with  mediaeval 
scholarship,  i84ff. ;  as  the 
basis  of  assurance,  iSsff. 

Secularism,  I,  46,  100;  in 
industry,  58ff. ;  in  poli- 
tics, 65ff. ;  in  church  or- 
ganization, 71  ff. ;  in  ethi- 
cal theory,  86ff. ;  in  the- 
ological scholarship,  Q2ff. ; 
misunderstood  by  tradi- 
tional theology,  i6off. ;  re- 
ligious interpretation  of, 
i6iff. 

Separatism,  8ff. 

Smith,  Adam,  59. 

Social  Question,  61,  70,  91, 
104,  109,  112,  I4iff. ;  and 
religion,  I25ff.,  147. 

State,  ecclesiastical  concep- 


tion of,  63;  secular  con- 
ception of,  6sff. 

Strong,  Augustus  H.,  223. 

Supernatural,  the  place  of 
in  traditional  theology, 
I56ff.,  2o8ff.,  233. 

Swift,  Morrison  I.,  129. 

Tertullian,  31,  32,  54,  165. 

Traditional  theology,  bibli- 
cal basis  of,  xx ;  moral 
values  in,  xx,  43ff. ;  so- 
cial background  of,  147, 
152;  basis  of  assurance 
in,  I52ff. ;  tests  employed 
by,  I78ff. ;  loyalty  in- 
volved in,  175,  176,  183. 

Virgin  birth  of  Jesus,  224, 
225. 

Wealth,  attitude  of  early 
Christianity  toward,  52ff. ; 
mediaeval  valuation  of, 
54ff. ;  social  significance 
of,  139,  140. 

Weber,  Max,  133. 


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